Articles
Child Care Centers
& Private Elementaries
from Westlife Newspaper, February 7, 2001
When Stella Moga immigrated to this country
in 1979, she arrived witn one suitcase, spoke no English and didn't
have enough money to make a telephone call from John F. Kennedy
Airport in New York City.
Today, the native of Romania is the entrepreneur
owner of daycare centers in Westlake, Avon,
Strongsville, Rocky River, Hudson and Independence.
In three years, she hopes to take Le Chaperon Rouge Child Care & Development
public and expand the business into a nationwide chain.
For Moga, there is no place on earth like
the United States. Even after more than two decades in the U.S.,
she rhapsodizes about her adopted country and the possibilities
it offers its citizens. "I wake up every morning and thank
God I'm in America," she says fervently. "I know many
people here take this country for granted. I understand that,
because they have nothing to compare it to." Her basis for
comparison was the nightmare of living under a communist government.
When Moga's family headed to Cleveland
to begin their new lives in America, they were told by some well-meaning
folks to apply for welfare. "So I did, or I tried to,"
she says. "I stood in line downtown and I thought, "I'd
rather go back than do this."
So, knowing virtually no English, Moga
got a job in the kitchen at the old Stouffer's Restaurant at Westgate,
then in the factory of Joseph & Feiss Co., maker of men's
clothing. From there, she went to work at the old Halle's department
store downtown. What really changed her life, though, was enrolling
her son, Alexander, who was born in 1981, in a day-care center
so she could work.
By this time, the multilingual Moga was
teaching French at a Montessori school in Bay Village. "At
that day-care center they let him cry all day long," she
recalls. "This made me very angry. One day, I came home and
I said to my family, "I can do this better."
But Moga had earned a master's degree in
education in Romania, so she knew a few things about young children.
Her main problem, as her family had pointed out, was that she
didn't have very much money. Nevertheless, she was determined.
She bought toys at garage sales. She found space in the basement
of a church in North Olmsted in September 1982 and with $1,800
working capital, started Le Chaperon Rouge.
She started out with just three youngsters.
But she knew from personal experience that if there's one thing
people are looking for these days, it's good, reliable, clean
day-care facilities. She distributed 5,000 fliers and it wasn't
long before Le Chaperon Rouge had outgrown the church basement.
"It grew like a garden," says Moga. "Soon I had
a long waiting list, so I had to find a bigger space."
In 1984, she moved to a bigger building
in North Olmsted. In 1986, she established a second Le Chaperon
in Westlake in a rented space. In 1992, she built her current
facility, a one-story, red brick building with white trim at
27390 Center Ridge Road across from the permanent Porter Public
Library. The Avon Le Chaperon is in (The Landings) Travelers
Point, behind Perkins Restaurant. Moga also bought a building
in Strongsville for her center there in 1990, and eight years
later demolished that to build a new building for school.
"Le Chaperon Rouge" is the French
rendering of Little Red Riding Hood, the centers' symbol.
Moga's plan is to open three more centers
in the Cleveland area - possibly Solon, Amherst-Lorain-- then
go national.
"My dream is to develop this program
in many American cities, and I'm going to make it," she says.
Moga believed she has hit upon a formula for successful child-care
facilities. "We provide high-quality
care and education, good food, learning a foreign language, computers
and physical exercise at a very reasonable price."
How does she do this? "I
guess I know how to manage money," she says. "We
are not babysitters, or just a day-care center. We are teaching
the children something all the time." Moga's claim is that the day care/school
is "like a second home" where everyone is content in a
cheerful facility. Staffers seem genuinely glad to see her. They
speak highly of her and her program. Many have been on the staff
for years.
"America gave me a business
and a good man. I'm a happy camper," Moga says with a wide
smile.
-
Le Chaperon Rouge expanded
to elementary schools to 5th grade. We offer exceptional
academics, social groups, good nutrition, extra classes (French,
Spanish, Physical Education, Multicultural Art Education/Diversity,
Sports) and homework all under the same roof.
- Our children score the highest in national
tests and they are placed in gifted programs when they go to public
schools.
- Stella Moga is listed on the National
Registry of "Who's Who" in America.
Le Chaperon Rouge
is a child's best friend
from West Life, July 24, 2002
by Liz Lucey
"I wake up every morning and thank God
I am in America. I know many people here take this country for granted.
I understand that, because they have nothing to compare it to."
-- Stella Moga
Once upon a time there lived in a certain
village a little gountry girl, the prettiest creature who was ever
seen. Her mother was fond of her, and her grandmother doted on her
still more. This good woman had a little red riding hood made for
her. It suited the girl so extremely well that everybody called
her Little Red Riding Hood.
This excerpt from one of America's favorite
children's stories left an indelible mark on Stella Moga, founder
of Le Chaperon Rouge. Today, the native of Romania is the proud
owner of a chain of day care centers in Westlake, North Olmsted,
Avon Lake, Strongsville, and Rocky River -- with plans for expansion
in Independence, Avon and Broadview Heights. Le Chaperon Rouge's
logo is the French rendering of Little Red Riding Hood, indicative
of the protective and nurturing care of children that Moga represents.
This is a successful entrepreneur who continues
to give back to her community. Moga's primary mission statement
is to be a major spokesperson in Washington for day care centers
and to bring awareness to Americans that children need to be better
educated, fed, and nurtured in their daycare centers.
"This is code blue for America. A child's
most impressionable years are preschool years. We have such abundance
in this country. Why are dayare centers serving powdered juices,
microwaved meals and overcrowding schoolrooms with as many as 30
children per teacher?" says Moga. Why aren't we giving second
and third helpings of food to children, especially with tome of
the fees that parents are paying? I see daycare centers where 40-50
kids are put in one room. There is no excuse for this. It's a matter
of greed--to save on equipment and toys. And, I will make a substantial
difference in the quality of children's lives."
Moga is true to her convictions and never
spends time - she invests it. Last year, she was voted Republican
of the Year and met President Bush's Chief of Staff, Andrew H. Card,
Jr. On Novermber 29, 2000, Andrew H. Card, Jr., was appointed to
be Chief of Staff because of his impressive service record in the
public and private sector, including serving in the administrations
of two former presidents. Moga found that she and Card shared somethign
in common: a passion to improve daycare centers throughout the country.
She has received Card's encouragement to lead a task force in improving
daycare centers.
"I will not accept that there are not
enough teachers to facilitate those daycare centers. I constantly
have teachers from other daycare centers asking for jobs even
though some of the employees have been with me more than ten
years and some fifteen to twenty years. As an American, I hold
mayors, councilmen and leaders of each city accountable for these
unacceptable conditions," says
Moga.
Moga sees much of the problem with unhappy
daycare teachers and caregivers. "In some daycare centers,
these women are paid less than a McDonald's salary. If you have
unhappy teachers, it's going to impact the children. The people
that work for me feel necessary and appreciated."
Le Chaperon Rouge is unique in that people
have an opportunity to go into a CDA Program and earn a diploma
synonymous to an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education.
Staffers at Le Chaperon are paid well above the minimum wage of
many day care centers and, comparable to Catholic school salaries
in the K-8 school.
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Beverly Hartwell is a registered nurse that
has seen Moga's vision come to truition during her 14-year employment
with Le Chaperon Rouge. "Academically, the children at Le Chaperon
are moer advanced, because they are challenged an motivated and
have more individualized attention. This is one of the most reasonably
priced daycare centers, because Stella knows the financial strain
of being a single parent," says Hartwell.
Born in Romania, Moga has treasured every
day since she immigrated to America in 1979. She is adamant that
anything is possible in America and has difficulty understanding
why so many Americans are unhappy.
"I can go to the grocery store and
buy food. People don't smell the roses. I waited seven years
to get a phone in Romania. I had to pay that in full and did
not actually get the phone until three years later. We should
be stres-free in this country; you have all the staple items
supplied to you: food, transportation, and a voice in the government.
In France or Germany, I would never be able to do the things
I am doing in America."
Moga will enver forget the kindness extended
to her when her young son developed serious medical problems
and she had no insurance. As bills mounted to well over $100,000,
the Hill Burton Foundation stopped in and paid the bill. Today,
her son Alexander is a healthy undergraduate student at Bowling
Green University, majoring in pyschology. She is proud of her
daughter, "Dee
Dee" who assists her on daily operations and shares the
same appreciation of freedom as her mother does.
"I think we should take care of our
own. While it's a wonderful thing that there are many Americans
who adopt children from Europe, we have so many American children
who need help."
Moga also believes Americans should simplify
their life and spend more quality time with their children. "Children
don't get enough love, we provide so much material things instead
of love. I see children with designer clothers with parents who
are working overtime to afford that. Video games were one of the
worst contributions to American children. We need to simplify things,
spend time with family, and nurture a child's natural gifts. Read
more, create more and you will find motivated children."
Moga is in the process of creating a national
plan to bring more Le Chaperon Rouge franchises throughout the United
Sates - but she wants parents to be the shareholders and share in
the profits. "There are many women who want to work, but they
are putting their family first. My plan is to have these families
as managers of a daycare where their child is enrolled. This is
an investment for them not just in themselves, but in their child's
welfare," says Moga.
Stella Moga is a success story and inspiration
to women who have experienced injustice in their lives. The little
girl who sustained unbelievable hardships in Romania under a Communist
dictatorship has blossomed into a beautiful, confident woman who
wants to protect children's rights and remind Americans that freedom
is a gift.
Changing child
care
from Crain's Cleveland Business
by Kimberly Bonvissuto
Stella Moga's journey in the child care industry
strikes a chord with others in her field--dissatisfied with existing
centers, she took a shot at doing it better herself. The Romanian
immigrant settled in Northeast Ohio with no money in her pockets.
She spoke little English and was working to make ends meet. She
found her road to entrepreneurship through her young son, Alexander,
whom she left in the hands of a day care center.
"They let him cry all day," she
said.
Ms. Moga is one of a number of area residents
who opened their own child care centers within the past few years
to meet what they say is a growning demand not just for child care,
but for quality child care.
She picked up toys at garage sales and started
her own little school with three children in a North Olmsted
church basement. Today Ms. Moga runs Le Chaperon Rouge child
care centers in Northeast Ohio. She oversees 110 employees at
six locations -- Avon , Westlake, , Rocky River,
Hudson and Strongsville, Independence. She also is building a center
in Solon and Amherst-Lorain.
"My schools are one of the best in the
field. I'm not modest about it because it's the truth," she
said. "We offer amazing preschool programs. We are a school
with extended hours. We are not a day care."
Affording quality
The reality of today's society is that both
parents work -- sometimes out of necessity. That means more children
spend their early years in the care of prefessional child care centers
that base their existence on working families.
Parents now have a range of options for their
young children -- from home-based day care providers to commercial
centers. The child care market in Northeast Ohio is filled with
independent centers, although a few national chains -- KinderCare
Learning Center, Children's World Learning Centers, The Goddard
School Childtime Learning Centers, among others -- are claiming
their slice of the child care pie.
Debbie Fodge, assistant director at Starting
Point for Child Care and Early Education, a child care resource
an referral agency in Cleveland, said the emphasis on quality and
affordable child care came in the mid- to late- 1990s when welfare
reform was the hot topic. Parents were forced to go back to work
and term limits were placed on welfare.
"Quality has always been an issue. The
real issue is the ability to pay for quality," Ms. Fodge said.
"Quality care means you have staff that are trained and you
are able to pay them something equitable to a school teacher."
Another impetus for curriculum-based child
care programs has been the Ohio Department of Education's emphasis
on proficiency testing and standards-based education. For children
to be successful on these exams, there was a realization that preparation
would have to begin at a much younger age. Within the past year,
the state adopted early learning standars for the 3- to 5-year-old
age group.
The learning years
The National Association for the Education
of Young Children in Washington, D.C., created a voluntary accredidation
system 19 years ago. Since then, it has accredited about 8,500 programs
that involve more than 750,000 young children.
"There is a lot more recognition that
the early years are the learning years, " said Alan Simpson,
the association's communications director.
Le Chaperon Rouge:
Complete Childcare
from West Life, March 25, 1998
Stella Moga came to the United Stats on September
16, 1979 in hopes of leading a better life. Sixteen years later,
she has made a better life for herself...and many others with six
schools and 90 employees.
The "many others" are the children
who are enrolled at her five Le Chaperon Rouge schools.
Moga got the idea to start her own day care
center after she could not find one she liked for her son, Alex.
"I looked all over the city and could
not find a facility I was comfortable with," Moga said.
She world extra jobs, went to business school
at night, and developed a business plan for a day care center. Wtih
$1,800 and a space in the bottom of a church, she opened up the
first Le Chaperon Rouge in 1982.
The curriculum at Le Chaperon Rouge mixes
fun, free-spirited activities with lessons in reading, mathematics,
science, social studies, French, computers, geography, good manners,
physical education, and other basic early childhood educational
components.
In August of last year, Le Chaperon Rouge
expanded the program to include fifth grade, offering one of
the best reading programs around to small groups of children
from kindergarten to fifth grade, a great benefit to working
mothers who can drop off children in the morning and not worry
about breakfast, lunch and snacks, before and after-school care,
sports activities, French, computers, Spanish, and afterschool
homework for a competitive price.
Classrooms for children age two, two-to-three
and three-to-four, an accredited kindergarten program, and areas
for infants and toddlers keep children in small, manageable groups
of similar skill levels.
Le Chaperon Rouge is in operation from 6:30
a.m. to 6:30 p.m., offering parents flexible scheduling and a comprehensive
and safe educational setting. Le Chaperon Rouge is not a babysitting
service - children are challenged and exposed to new concepts on
a daily basis.
Make the right choice with Le Chaperon Rouge
Child Care and Development Centers.
