Kiddie Academy Child Care Learning Center, a comprehensive and developmental childcare facility, is set to open in Hicksville on March 4. Located at 132 West John Street, the 10,000-square-foot center is designed for children 6 weeks to age 12.

Established in 1981, Kiddie Academy provides a child care program designed to promote intellectual, social, physical and emotional growth. There are currently over 100 centers throughout the United States, with 10 in Suffolk County and three in Nassau, including Hicksville, Lynbrook and Syosset.

Russell and Karla-Jo Plevretes, franchise owners of the Hicksville center, said the decision to open a child care facility is the result of personal child care experiences. "We have a 5-year-old son who has been in child care since he was 10 weeks old," Mr. Plevretes, an estate planning/tax law attorney and acting chief of the Center Island Police Department, said. "We liked some of the things they did and disliked others. We knew that the type of care available to parents could be better."

In addition to providing daycare from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, Kiddie Academy will offer before and after care for working parents complete with bus service to and from schools in the surrounding communities. Come September, the center will offer a full-day kindergarten program.

Mr. Plevretes said that in addition to curriculum required by New York state, students who attend Kiddie Academy will learn sign language and a foreign language beginning at age 2. They will also have access to computers and educational software. "We are very serious about education," he said. "We don't consider ourselves a daycare center. We consider ourselves a learning center."

The Hicksville center is divided into 12 age-appropriate rooms with a puppy theme. A child who is 6 to 18 months old will be in the Yorkshire group while a child who is 10 or older will be in the Great Dane group. "The children will be separated by age," said Mr. Plevretes. "We believe there is a big difference in a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old."

For security purposes, each room will be equipped with video cameras and employees will be required to wear photo identification badges and submit a pass code in order to enter the building. Each room has also been constructed in bright shades of blue, green and yellow with low interior walls that are four-feet tall to allow for greater visibility throughout the center.

Jennifer DiMola, director of the center, said that above all, Kiddie Academy offers parents peace of mind. "There has been bad press coming out lately about child care," said Ms. DiMola. "Parents need to know that quality care is available to them."

Mr. Plevretes agreed, saying, "We will be very strict with our staff because we have high expectations. I don't think that is wrong when we are asking people to trust us with their children. Our goal is to make their lives a little easier."

Annie Arculeo of Westbury, who learned of Kiddie Academy from a friend, recently enrolled her 3-year-old daughter, Stephanie, at the Hicksville center. "I have a good feeling about the teachers, the different programs they will offer and what they will do with the children," she said. "They really seem like they want to get to know the child as opposed to other centers. If you have children you understand how important that feeling is. It's a feeling of security."

Kiddie Academy of Hicksville will hold an open house on Saturday, March 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information call 933-3275.