"Kids go where there is excitement. They stay where there is love."
Our History
Serendipity Family Center was founded by Sarah and Aaron Royster in 2005. Serendipity Family Center began in the basement of their home with eight amazing children. Sixteen years later, all eight of those Serendipity scholars have earned full scholarships to nationally known universities.
We believe that the love of learning begins in the womb. Reading to your baby while in the womb sets a foundation for language and learning. We also believe that music is fundamental to academic, social and emotional growth. Research shows that listening to music helps with reading, math, self-reflection and decision making.
We offer a unique learning experience that all parents want for their children during those crucial developmental years. We intentionally created a family environment, where every parent or guardian feels welcome to come and volunteer in a classroom. We partner with parents and other caregivers to create a personalized academic plan for each child. As parents, we understand the importance of trusting a provider to care for your child. We have researched schools all around the world to design an outstanding educational experience and hired amazing educators to teach children how to love learning!
We believe the environment is a crucial part of the curriculum. Therefore, we provide a stimulating environment for children to explore every day. Surrounding children with beautiful classrooms that are safe, fun, and educational are a top priority for the owners.
Our curriculum was designed by two highly qualified educators. Aaron Royster graduated with his MBA from the University of Chicago and has been educating children over twenty-five years, traveling the world to identify new concepts and ideas to educate children. Sarah earned her M.A. in Education from DePaul University. They have been married for eighteen years and have three sons. They have identified key performance indicators that led to many of our alumni earning seats at Lenart, McDade, Skinner, Keller, Morgan Park Academy, Kellogg, Clissold, Whitney Young, Lindblom and Kenwood. We believe all children can learn at an accelerated pace, when parents and teachers collaborate to create an individual academic plan where scholars feel safe to take risks. We have an unique interviewing process to ensure our teachers are both intelligent and empathetic. Our teachers embrace this philosophy and encourage our scholars to think big every day.
Our Values
Serendipity is founded on 3 basic concepts: The act of Kindness, The love of Music and The Love of Reading. We work assiduously to balance academic excellence with one’s ability to exude kindness. We know early education is where children learn to navigate their new world and we introduce many experiences through music. Reading is a life skill and we use literature to introduce our students to various social and interpersonal situations.
Everyday we work to empower our scholars.
We believe all children can learn at a developmentally appropriate pace when parents, educators and the community work together to create a safe place for the scholar to feel accepted, encouraged and held to high expectations. Our students are inspired by their teachers with a hug or a high five when they are right or when they are wrong. We address our students as “Scholars” as we speak into their futures.
We believe children are the future and our best chance to eradicate injustice and form a more perfect union.
Our Educators
Serendipity consists of passionate educators who are committed to helping our most valuable population grow and learn in an environment that instills in them a belief; “that they can do and be anything”, with a little hope and a lot of determination. Our team consists of a retired CPS Principal, a nurse, retired CTA associate, Corporate Executives and passionate educators. 45% of our team holds a Master’s Degree, 40% earned their Bachelor’s degree and 15% are pursuing their Associate’s Degree.
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Submit your application to get started. Serendipity also offers Head Start/Early Head Start eligibility to
those families who qualify.