Carelot Children’s Center was founded in February 1998 as a fulfillment to a lifelong dream of Holly Vlaun Bevilacqua, now Chief Operating Officer.  Larry and Holly Bevilacqua welcomed their first child into the world on July 9, 1995.  Holly had a successful teaching career yet she longed to be at home with her new daughter. With her love for children and enthusiasm for teaching, Holly opened “Little Ducklings” home daycare. It didn’t take long for word to spread of the wonderful program being offered at “Little Ducklings”.  Recognition for quality childcare became imperative.  As lifelong residents of Waterford with strong sense of community, a location in the heart of Waterford was found at 203 Boston Post Road.  The year long process was underway to make it a state of the art childcare center that would meet their needs.  Thus, began the mission to build strong foundations for a lifetime of learning.  Holly hired her sisters who had also chosen teaching as their professions.  With only ten children enrolled and 4 staff, this family run center named Carelot Children’s Center was opened on February 23, 1998.

Enrollment increased and the reputation spread and demanded the growth of the business.  In August of 1999 Mr. Bevilacqua took on the task of opening a second center with double the capacity in East Lyme , CT.  The building was already in place physically but needed some cosmetic and aesthetic changes to meet the Carelot Standards.  This center has 10 classrooms and can accommodate 127 students today.   In August of 2004 The Friendship School, a regional multicultural magnet preschool opened and the superintendent of schools in Waterford Randall Collins called Carelot to personally ask them to please consider submitting a bid proposal to create the before and after school program within the school.  He stated that his respect for the quality of our educational program in town prompted him to ask for our involvement.  The 2004/2005 bid was won by Carelot who created the Carelot Clubhouse at The Friendship School.  After a successful first year the contract was once again put out to bid and was awarded to Carelot for a three year term. Carelot was selected over more than six other competitors to continue the program.  In March of 2007 Carelot began the process of opening Carelot Killingly.  This will be the third full service learning center in the Carelot Family.  This center is slated to open in the fall of 2007 with a capacity for approximately 100 children.  Carelot Brooklyn was found in the spring of 2007 just after the construction of Killingly began.  This site served previously as a center and with upgrades added to meet the Carelot Standards will be open in July of 2007.  Carelot is currently planning for it’s expansion of the Before and After School division with the recent award of the Waterford and Griswold public school programs.  The five year strategic plan also includes the opening of additional full service centers in the Ledyard, Griswold and Norwich areas.

Carelot Children’s Center has been in existence since 1998 and continues to provide a quality program for children age’s three months to twelve years.  The Waterford center is licensed for fifty-four children, East Lyme for 127 and The Clubhouse runs under the auspices of Learn the overseer of The Friendship School.  Both the Waterford and East Lyme Centers have been accredited by NAEYC. Carelot prides itself on community collaborations being a part of their well thought out and internally developed curriculum.  The centers and programs all provide a warm, loving atmosphere for children to learn, grow and explore at their own individual pace while be supported by a professional team of individuals dedicated to early childhood education.