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JO’S Learning Academy
JO’S Learning Academy, (formerly known as JO’S Daycare), was founded in 1967 when Joceal Price began to offer childcare services for neighborhood families from her home. Ms. Jo, as she is affectionately known to family and friends, believed that children were most likely to succeed if they were cared for in a nurturing and loving environment with an abundance of personal attention. During the thirty plus years in business she cared for several generations of children from families throughout Milwaukee. Many of these families have children currently enrolled in the Academy. Ms. Jo continues to work at the North Avenue site and is there daily using her skills, knowledge and experience to ensure children receive nutritious meals, hugs and love that only she can give. She also provides support and guidance for young families of children.
Schnell Price Lambert, Ms. Jo’s daughter, after pursuing a corporate career in marketing for over ten years, knew she wanted to return to her hometown and do something that would have a larger and more significant impact on the community. Therefore, in 1997 she decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps to provide high quality early education and care for central city families. In addition, Schnell wanted to provide opportunities for employment and training for women and men in their community who were interested in working to improve the education and well-being of young children and their families.
Schnell expanded on her mother’s model of childcare and purchased a home in the Washington Heights neighborhood. As enrollment grew, a second home was purchased, which also quickly filled to capacity. With full enrollment at both sites, she decided to transition from a licensed family childcare provider to a licensed group center.