The decision to change our company name from Dr. Day Care to NurturEd was not taken lightly. This has been a meaningful journey, and we are incredibly grateful for the support, feedback, and encouragement we received along the way.
We want to take a moment to highlight some of the companies that helped us achieve this new look.
This work began in early 2023 during a company-wide strategic planning process. As we reflected on who we are, what we do, and where we’re going, one theme surfaced again and again: the need for our brand to evolve. While Dr. Day Care has been a meaningful part of our story (rooted in our founder Mary Ann Shallcross Smith, Ed.D. and her nickname) we knew that we’ve grown into something more.
We knew that we would want guidance on finding a new name and logo. Our first thought was to reach out to John Houle, the President & CEO of Main St. Media, based out of Providence, RI. John and his team met with us many times and conducted surveys to learn more about our company and what is important to us.
At this time, we also realized this was bigger than just a new name for Dr. Day Care. NurturEd is part of a family. We work closely with the before and after school program, Kids Klub, and the inclusive special needs program, Therapeutic Child Care Services (TCCS). Our Home Office provides support to all of these companies. We needed something that helped show that we are a team, something with a cohesive new look.
Main St. Media’s presentation for a new name resonated with us. NurturEd highlights our focus on nurturing and education. We also realized the “Ed” focus would help us connect all of our companies! From there, we thought about the focus and priorities of Kids Klub and the name EnrichEd was quickly a favorite. The special needs program has always provided additional support services, so EnhancEd became the new name for TCCS. Later, the name EdCentral was created for our Home Office.
With a new name, we knew we’d need a new look for our websites. Daniella Norwood at Ella J Designs has been managing our websites since 2015. Daniella is a former school teacher turned web designer/developer based out of Saunderstown, RI. You can find our newly redesigned websites at enhancedri.com, enrichedri.com, and nurturedelc.com.
Early on, we thought about how to best roll out the new names and logos. We quickly decided that an announcement during our professional day, EdFest, would be the best time to reach all of our staff before we revealed the new names. To make a fun announcement video, we enlisted the help of Ron Carlstrom, the President & CEO of Reel Big Media in Cumberland, RI.
Another company that worked closely with us to have a big unveiling was Sign Design, based out of Brockton, MA. While our staff were attending EdFest, Sign Design was busy putting up the new exterior signs on each of our buildings so we could have a new look for Monday morning.
Most of our staff had a lot of questions about their company uniform! Cool Air Creations in Smithfield, RI helped us get new uniform options in new colors.
We also had to get new email addresses and our tech support company, Advanced Network Systems helped us with this transition. Based out of Lincoln, RI, this team was invaluable in providing guidance and support through all of our updates and online changes.
And of course, thank you to all of our staff that helped with this entire project!
While our name has changed, what hasn’t changed is who we are at our core. Our values, our team, and our dedication to families remain exactly the same. If anything, this new name allows us to tell our story more clearly and confidently.
We are proud of where we’ve been as Dr. Day Care, and we are excited about where we’re going as NurturEd.
Thank you for being part of our journey.
