When Sharon Estroff first started Challenge Island, it was just an education experiment she was conducting in her own classroom. As a 2nd grade teacher, Sharon thought of Challenge Island as just another teaching tool she could use to enrich the lives of her 24 students. But after expanding and bringing Challenge Island to afterschool programs, Sharon realized she was onto something. After learning about other education-based franchises, Sharon made the decision to make Challenge Island a franchise in 2013.
Since then, Challenge Island’s growth has been explosive – with the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) learning program now being taught at 140 locations. Sharon’s business has partnered with over 10,000 schools, reaching 5 million students. Challenge Island is in 32 states and 5 countries.
For Sharon, the most rewarding part of the business is the fact that her curriculum is being taught to kids all over the world. The franchising model is what allowed that to happen and gave Sharon the opportunity to turn her passion into a thriving business. Without franchising, challenge island would only be reaching students that stepped inside of Sharon’s 2nd grade classroom. Instead, Sharon’s curriculum is shared and replicated in classrooms across the globe. The success and expansion of Challenge Island represents the limitless possibility of franchising. Sharon Estroff and Challenge Island are Open for Opportunity.
