Our History Chesterbrook Academy
A Legacy of Excellence in Education Since 1985
Chesterbrook Academy’s name originates from a historic farm in Wayne, Pennsylvania. In 1881, Alexander J. Cassatt, the Pennsylvania Railroad’s first Vice President, purchased Chesterbrook Farm. The Farm was a 632-acre property north of Swedesford Road. Previously, it had been owned by the Havard family, prominent early settlers of the region, for 250 years. Cassatt intended to breed racehorses as well as raise champion dairy cows and sheep on the property.
After a devastating fire in 1898 destroyed the original buildings, Cassatt commissioned renowned Philadelphia architect Frank Furness to design a new building. This landmark became the Chesterbrook we know today.
Amid this transformation, the property’s story took a new turn. In 1985, Rocking Horse Child Care Centers of America (RHCCCA), led by Jack and Scott Clegg, hired developer Rob Lee to transform the property into a school, initially called Rocking Horse Child Care Center. This reuse honored the farm’s heritage while introducing a new chapter of serving the community through education.
Founded just a year earlier in 1984, RHCCCA rapidly expanded its footprint, acquiring 31 child care centers and opening two new additional facilities by 1987. By the end of 1988, the organization was operating 41 child care centers across eight states, serving more than 5,500 children. RHCCCA distinguished itself by offering professionally developed educational and recreational programs led by highly trained teachers.
Through extensive visits to their schools, the Cleggs recognized that the company’s true strength lay not merely in daycare services, but in delivering curriculum-based education. They emphasized the company’s unique educational programs as a foundation for future growth, shifting the organization from child care centers to structured, curriculum-based preschools.
The shift in strategy also changed the company’s expansion model. Rather than spreading across vast regions, the Cleggs adopted a deliberate approach of clustering schools within specific geographic regions. A typical expansion started with acquiring or converting a single school in a new market, then building or acquiring additional preschools nearby under the same brand name. Once a strong preschool network was in place, the company would add centrally located elementary and middle schools. This cluster would remain the same educational system from preschool through middle school, building community ties and academic continuity.
To reflect this new educational focus and vision for growth, Rocking Horse Child Care Centers of America, Inc. was renamed Nobel Education Dynamics in 1993, and later became Nobel Learning Communities in 1998.
Chesterbrook Academy began expanding beyond its original location in 1986, opening preschools in Illinois and New Jersey. In 1989, the brand established its first preschool in North Carolina, followed by its move into Virginia in 1990. By 1995, Chesterbrook Academy had entered South Carolina and acquired its first elementary school in Raleigh, North Carolina. The brand opened preschools in Florida in 1997 and launched its first elementary school in Pennsylvania in 1998. In 2011, Chesterbrook Academy expanded into Maryland.
