Cradle to Crayons was established in 1998, where, as a high school senior, Courtney started her child care career as an assistant teacher.  Courtney went off to college and fast forward 4 years, she returned with a BA in Early Childhood Education as a single mom with a brand new infant. In 2006, at 25 years old, Courtney took a leap of faith and bought Cradle to Crayons. The center, located in Heritage Square, had 4 classrooms and 50 children. If you grew up here, you know Heritage Square…cute, quiet, quaint. A place she grew up spending days at as a child and as teenage girl on her very first date.

In 2015, she moved the center to this location in Applewood, having tripled in size. Ironically, the old shopping center she walked to as a child to buy her favorite cookies was now the home of Cradle to Crayons. Courtney had a passion and a vision and brought it to life. Her goal was to make Cradle to Crayons a community of passionate teachers working together with our families to create a loving and safe environment for all children. Courtney’s son, Caiden and her daughter Grace both grew up at Cradle to Crayons. More than half of our staff have children who grew up in each of these classrooms. She created a family. It takes a village to raise a child, and this is our village.

Even after all of these years, the excitement of a new family joining ours brings so much joy.

Courtney and her two children reside in the Applewood area. She is thankful for the opportunity to be able to have a true impact on the lives of families in her own community. The courageous (and quite frankly terrifying) step a single mother took for her family, years ago, has changed the lives of thousands of other families.