Economic Development & Industrial Corporation of Lynn

Busy Bee Buzzing Along With Help From EDIC

September 18, 2017
By Daily Item Staff/The Daily Item

Three years after taking over operation of the Busy Bee Nursery School, and a few months after buying the business, Ashley (Pierce) Bennett and Sarah Treiber were ready to take it to the next level by making physical improvements to the building on Severance Street. As new owners of a small business, they needed some assistance so they turned to EDIC/Lynn.

Bennett and Treiber received a $50,000 loan through EDIC’s Micro Loan program, allowing them to renovate the preschool classroom and restrooms, create an office, and make other cosmetic improvements. The renovations allowed them to add two students, bringing the total to 36, the maximum for which they are licensed. There were seven students when they started running the school in 2013.

“We have a great partnership with EDIC,” Bennett said. “The loan process was easy and quick. We greatly appreciate the support.”

COURTESY PHOTO

Busy Bee operators Ashley Bennett, left, and Sarah Treiber have taken their nursery school to the next level.

Busy Bee has two classrooms — a preschool class for children ages 2.9 to 4 and a transitional kindergarten class for ages 5-6. In addition to the academic curriculum, there is an enrichment program three days a week that offers gymnastics, yoga, music and physical fitness. The school is open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. In addition to following the typical school calendar, it is open on school vacations and for most of the summer.

“We cater to working parents,” Bennett said, adding that the majority of their students are children of teachers.

Bennett and Treiber started running Busy Bee in the summer of 2013 when Bennett’s uncle, John Olson, purchased the business and property from longtime owners Patricia Melanson and Marcia Boudrow, who had run it for 26 years. Bennett and Treiber had met when they were both teaching at Marblehead Children’s Center, and discussed going into business together at some point.

Bennett and Treiber made the move to Busy Bee at the same time, with a goal of someday buying it from Olson. That came to fruition last December.

“We got the ball rolling on purchasing the building,” Treiber said. “It took a while but it was well worth it.”

“We were very pleased to help Busy Bee make improvements that enhanced what was already an established business in the city,” said EDIC Executive Director James M. Cowdell. “Ashley and Sarah are providing a valuable service by preparing children for elementary school.”

Bennett, a lifelong Lynn resident, is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University with a Master’s in Early Childhood Education from AIC. She taught preschool in Marblehead and special education for one year at Lynn Tech before coming to Busy Bee. She is married with a 2-year-old son and another on the way.

Treiber graduated from Lynchburg College in Virginia and took Early Education courses at North Shore Community College. She worked in retail management before making a career switch. She taught preschool at the Beverly YMCA before moving to the Marblehead Children’s Center. Treiber lives in Wenham with her husband and two children.

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