Our Story

The Kuechners - Helena, AL - School for Amazing Kids

The idea for School for Amazing Kids® was born in early 1977 in a local McDonald’s. Two starry-eyed high school seniors met after school to discuss what they wanted to be when they grew up. Cindy Gilliland told her boyfriend Bob Kuehner, “I’m gonna be a teacher.” Bob responded, “I’m going to work in business.” And so, it began.

It would be another eleven years before we started the School for Amazing Kids®. Cindy’s work in the public school system and Bob’s work in the securities industry were foundational in the formation of our schools, as was the fact that we were parents and had three kids very close in age.

Perhaps the most important foundational element for Amazing Kids was our faith and God’s “tugs and shoves” along the way.  These make for an incredible story, and you can find it here:  Part 1, Part 2, if you’re interested in the long version.  We created this video series for our staff onboarding process, so you may notice references geared for employees, but the story is the same!

Here’s our mission statement.  You’ll find it on a big rock outside your school, right at the front door.  It is our hope that you’ll also find it informing everything done within the walls of your school.

“We care for people,
investing our lives into theirs
for a return that pleases God.”

While we’re not interested in “indoctrinating” your children into any particular “flavor” of Christian faith, we believe that acting in accordance with the mission we’ve been given requires that we introduce them to the reality of Jesus Christ and the principles of life and living found in the New Testament of the Bible.  This includes bible stories, songs, and prayer.

We’ve dedicated more than 35 years to the safety, nurture and development of children.  Along with our mission statement, our own proprietary Learn-At-Play™ and RFL (Ready For Life) Assessments™, we use Frog Street Press™, “Three Cheers for Pre-K,” by Savvas™ and other proven curriculum tools to aid us in creating an almost endless variety of learning opportunities that make children giggle with delight while they systematically acquire the skills that will make them successful in kindergarten and beyond.

There’s a reason kindergarten teachers love working with the children who graduate from our schools. We do more than help get them ready for kindergarten. We help get them ready for life.

We’re proud of the impact we have on young lives, and we would love to share more and show you around our facility. We invite you to stop by for a cup of coffee. After all, we know there’s no substitute for your own personal observations when it comes to making a decision about who should care for your children.