Fairfax Couple Builds Preschool Around Creativity And Community

FAIRFAX, VA — When Sasi Yajamanyam began thinking about life after 25 years in the technology industry, he wasn't looking for just another business opportunity. He was looking for a way to make a meaningful difference.

The answer came from his wife, Hana.

A longtime preschool teacher who fulfilled her childhood dream by teaching at Temple Rodef Shalom Early Childhood Center in Falls Church, Hana had spent years developing her own philosophy of early childhood education.

Three years ago last October, the couple combined Sasi's business experience with Hana's classroom expertise when they purchased Building Kidz School of Fairfax, a preschool in the Fair Oaks area where they are putting that philosophy into practice.

Rather than simply providing child care, the Yajamanyams say they're working to create a school where children build confidence through creativity, exploration and community.

Learning Through Play

Building Kidz School of Fairfax, located at 11240 Waples Mill Road, Suite 101, serves children from infancy through pre-kindergarten. The school currently enrolls about 52 children and has capacity for about 75.

What drew the couple to the Building Kidz franchise was its performing arts-based curriculum, which combines music, dance and visual arts with academics while allowing individual owners flexibility to shape classroom instruction.

For Hana, that flexibility was essential.

"Building Kidz has its own curriculum, but I tailor it to our school and our area and what's expected, what the parents want," she said. "I am working on the curriculum, implementing it and working with the teachers."

Instead of emphasizing worksheets and memorization, the school focuses on learning through play, hands-on activities and discovery.

Children learn through sensory activities, imaginative play, art projects and real-world experiences designed to encourage problem solving rather than simply giving them answers.

"We don't want them to remember. We don't want them to repeat. We don't want them to blindly follow directions," Hana said. "We will help you come up with the answer yourself."

The curriculum also incorporates weekly music and dance classes and culminates in two student performances each year, giving children opportunities to build confidence while performing in front of family members.

Another feature, called "Learning Through Life Experiences," allows children to role-play everyday settings such as restaurants, post offices and farmers markets while connecting those experiences to classroom lessons.

More Than A Preschool

For the Yajamanyams, the school's mission extends beyond academics.

As first-generation immigrants who built successful lives in the U.S., they said they haven't forgotten what it was like to start with very little. They wanted their two sons to understand the importance of giving back to the community, and they hope to instill those values in the families their school serves.

Earlier this year, students created collaborative artwork that parents bid on during an art show. The event raised more than $860 for Food for Others, the Fairfax County food bank.

"We're trying to build a community around the school, not just a place they come and drop off their kids," Sasi said.

The school also sets aside about 10 percent of its enrollment for children whose families receive state child care subsidies. Rather than requiring parents to pay the difference between the state's reimbursement and tuition, the school absorbs the remaining cost and waives additional fees.

"It makes us feel better that we can help some families," Hana said. "The children get the same experience as children whose parents can afford it, so they get the same start."

The couple said they also work to create what Hana calls a "home away from home," where every teacher knows every child and families feel connected to one another.

"We are a school family," she said. "When the children are here, they become our children."

A New Chapter

For Sasi, who once envisioned spending his entire career in the corporate world, owning a preschool has become more than a career change.

He said watching Hana bring her vision for early childhood education to life has confirmed they made the right decision.

"This was a lifestyle move," he said. "I thought Hana could add a lot of value and impact."

The couple plans to expand that vision with a second Building Kidz location opening this fall in Arlington and a third planned for the Franklin Farm area, while continuing to build on the community-centered approach they say defines their Fairfax school.

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