In 1960, when Barbara Baker was a public school teacher in San Jose, Calif., she noticed that most of her first-grade students weren't academically ready.
Three years later, she decided to help youngsters by starting the first academically oriented preschool in the city. It was financed largely with her own money since lenders were skeptical.
That year she had only six children to teach.
However, Baker was convinced that her educational vision could greatly assist children. In summary: The first five years of a child's life are the most critical in his or her intellectual development. For her, Challenger's goal was, and is, to develop permanent learning skills in children.
Word spread about the success of Challenger School, and the next year Baker had a waiting list of 100 parents eager to get their children enrolled.
The enterprise grew from that single preschool to 18 schools in the San Francisco Bay area and the Salt Lake area, with many of the schools now continuing through eighth grade.
In fact, Baker could expand more rapidly but has chosen to control growth to uphold Challenger's standards of excellence.
Financially, the venture has been a success. Nearly all of Challenger's growth has been funded through internal sources. The schools now have 591 employees. The net annual sales increased by 47 percent between 1997 and 1999.
It also has been personally rewarding, with benefits for students and staff. Baker's philosophy is that the success of the operation is driven by the employees, and strenuous training and certification programs have been adopted to prepare future teachers, administrators and staff.
Baker's venture also has educated thousands of students. And she points proudly to their accomplishments: Challenger students average above the 90th percentile on the Stanford Achievement Test year after year, and many have earned perfect scores on the college SAT and the California Math League test.