Striking the Right Chords: School of Rock's 2023 Milestones

Our year was simply dynamite!

2023 marked School of Rock’s silver anniversary, spotlighting not only our 25th year in operation, but also our most momentous year to date. We kicked off 2023 by being named the Grand Champion of the 2023 Global Franchise Award s, and solidified our position as the leading Children's Service and Education Franchise for the third consecutive year. Additionally, we were recognized as one of the top 500 franchises in Entrepreneur Magazine ’s Franchise 500? for the 10th year, and claimed the #1 spot in the children’s enrichment category for the third year in a row.

March rolled in with more great news, as the International Franchise Association (IFA) named School of Rock's master franchisee in Latin America, Matias Puga H. , as a 2023 Franchisee of the Year. Matias was honored at the 63rd IFA Annual Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, for being an outstanding franchise establishment owner-operator. But, Matias didn't stop there. Later in the year, Matias helped us achieve another monumental milestone when he facilitated the opening of the 350th School of Rock location in Providencia, Chile, bringing the total school count in Latin America to 13.

The opening of the 350th location punctuated two years of dramatic growth for School of Rock, with highlights including footprint growth from 245 domestic schools and 55 international schools in 12 markets to 276 domestic schools and 74 international schools in 15 markets, with new flagship schools in Mexico, Ireland and Portugal.

The summer months brought about even more success, with Franchise Business Review naming us on their fourth annual “Culture100” list, and as a 2023 Franchising@WORK Gold Award winner for outstanding company culture and employee satisfaction in the franchise sector.

Outside of awards, the year was filled with successful events. School of Rock returned to Summerfest, a long-standing partnership that was put on hold during the pandemic. More than 500 students from School of Rock locations across the world came together to take over six Summerfest stages in Milwaukee, WI., sharing the spotlight with some of the biggest names in music - including Imagine Dragons, Arcade Fire, Journey, and more.

School of Rock also brought back its infamous 10-day AllStars Tour format, giving our students the opportunity to perform at 40+ iconic venues across the United States and Canada. Finally, we launched the 1st annual Songwriter Showcase in partnership with American Songwriter , where five students got the opportunity to workshop, record and perform their original works in Nashville with mentors from across the music industry.

A pivotal moment this year came with School of Rock's acquisition by Youth Enrichment Brands (YEB), the nation’s leading youth activities platform. YEB’s mission is to help every kid discover and develop lifelong passions. It achieves this by connecting and serving a network of companies that deliver best-in-class youth camps, swim classes, and sports leagues. By joining the Youth Enrichment Brands platform, we also become a key partner in their ‘Play Without Limits’ initiative. We plan to convert this philanthropic initiative into a full scale foundation that will open up the potential for thousands of young people to increase their access to life-changing enrichment experiences.

October saw more award wins, with School of Rock establishing spots on Franchise Business Review's 2023 top 50 Most Profitable Franchises and top 100 Most Innovative Franchises. The company also crossed the 65,000 active student threshold, more than tripling its student count since 2020.

Just as we are closing the chapter on another successful year, School of Rock is gearing up for an encore in 2024, with exciting new international gains to announce at the start of the new year. Cheers to 25 years, 355 schools, 65,000 students and hundreds of thousands of community members and alumni around the globe.