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 Welcome to Ready Roos Early Learning Academy! 

​​Ready Roos Early Learning Academy was founded by owner-operators Marsha and Steven Karanikos.

 

Marsha is a proud Pittsburgh local, raised in the South Hills as one of ten children — eight sisters and one brother— ensuring her childhood was never short on excitement. Although she is a Pennsylvania-qualified educator, she embraced the opportunity to travel to Australia in the early 1990s, where she met Steven; marriage and family soon followed. Together they raised five children and, beginning in 2005, established and operated two early learning centers in Melbourne. In 2013, Marsha and the rest of the family returned to the United States. Two years later, Marsha and Steven opened their first U.S. learning center in Wexford (2015), followed by a second location in Cranberry Township (2018). With Marsha’s academic qualifications, extensive leadership experience, and deep commitment to early childhood education, she serves as our Center Director.

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In this role, Marsha provides day-to-day operational leadership and is ultimately responsible for ensuring Ready Roos consistently delivers a high-quality educational program in a safe, nurturing, and compliant environment. She oversees curriculum planning and classroom implementation across all age groups, ensuring lesson plans, daily routines, and learning activities align with developmental milestones and support school readiness. Marsha leads continuous quality improvement by coaching educators, conducting classroom observations, and providing ongoing feedback and professional development to strengthen instructional practice and child outcomes.

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Marsha also directs all licensing and regulatory compliance activities, including adherence to Pennsylvania childcare regulations, recordkeeping, required inspections, staff-to-child ratios, health and safety procedures, and mandated training. She establishes and monitors center-wide operational standards for classroom management, sanitation, emergency preparedness, access control, and child supervision. In partnership with the administrative team, she coordinates staff hiring, onboarding, scheduling, and performance management, ensuring appropriate coverage, role clarity, and a strong culture of professionalism and accountability.

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Family engagement is a core component of Marsha’s leadership. She serves as a primary point of contact for parents and guardians, supports the enrollment and orientation process, communicates regularly regarding children’s progress, and promptly addresses questions or concerns with discretion and empathy. She also guides the development and execution of center policies and parent communications, reinforcing consistent expectations and strengthening trust and transparency with families.

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In addition, Marsha oversees child-centered operational processes that support strong outcomes, including developmental screenings, individualized learning supports as appropriate, incident reporting, and coordination with external resources when needed. She collaborates on annual planning, budgeting priorities, enrollment targets, and program enhancements, helping ensure the Center maintains both educational excellence and sustainable operations. Through her hands-on leadership and proven track record operating multiple centers across two countries, Marsha sets the standard for Ready Roos’ mission-driven focus on early learning — delivering a purposeful educational experience rather than basic custodial care.

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Steven's career spans more than 39 years within Information Technology, supporting clients across industries including education, banking & finance, logistics, telecommunications and more. Beyond his IT career, he is an avid sports photographer, with a portfolio that highlights his work with both professional and collegiate teams in the USA and Australia. At the Academy, Steven serves as our Director of Administration. In this capacity, he leads enrollment coordination and staff administration and oversees the implementation and ongoing management of all back-office functions, including software platforms, mobile devices, our communications systems, security and access-control infrastructure, and other operational responsibilities as needed.

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As demand grew, their services expanded to include tutoring in English, helping students with school assignments alongside mathematics support. After eight years serving families in Melbourne, Australia, the family relocated to Wexford, PA, in 2013.

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In 2015, they opened MathZone – Wexford on Perry Highway, followed soon after by MathZone – Cranberry Twp. Their tutoring model continued to focus on mathematics while also evolving to provide opportunities in English.

Over time, programs such as early reading, reading comprehension, writing, and standardized test preparation were introduced for students in grades 1 and 2. To complete their curriculum, they added a school readiness program for preschoolers aged 3–5.

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For the past five years, this program has helped young learners build strong foundations and prepare with confidence for the next stage of their educational journey.

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In early 2023, they built on the success of their school readiness program by transforming MathZone – Cranberry Twp into a dedicated learning academy designed to prepare young children for preschool and beyond.

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Unlike franchised childcare centers—where policies, pay scales, and benefits can vary widely from one owner to the next—our center is independently owned and operated as one unified program.

 

This means our philosophy, quality standards, and staffing practices remain consistent in every classroom, every day. Decisions aren’t dictated by corporate guidelines or multiple owners; they’re made locally by people who know our families, our staff, and our community.

 

Our hands-on approach means Marsha & Steven invest directly in their team, creating stable and nurturing classrooms, and stay focused on a clear, shared vision for every child’s growth.

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Because they're independently owned, there’s no corporate middleman or distant franchise owner making decisions from afar. Every choice — from curriculum and classroom resources to teacher pay — is made right here by people who know and care about your family. Their commitment is to children, parents, and staff — not to a franchisor’s bottom line. That’s why we’re able to provide consistent quality, personal connections, and a true community-focused experience you won’t find in a cookie-cutter franchise model.

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Steven, Marsha, and the Ready Roos staff are excited to meet more families in and around Cranberry Township. We invite you to schedule a no-obligation tour of our brand-new, state-licensed center and see firsthand what makes our program so special. We think you’ll love what you find!

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​​​Kindest regards,
Marsha & Steven Karanikos