Merryhill School History
Dr. Leisey’s Vision for Working Families
In the late 1970s, Dr. Donald Leisey bought Merryhill Schools. Upon purchase, he revamped the logo and added the word “Country” to compete with Sacramento Country Day School. His vision was to provide a strong academic program alongside before and after school offerings to ease the challenges faced by working parents. At the time, many families struggled to balance full-time work with ensuring their children were engaged and cared for after the school day ended. While such programs are common today, in the 1970s, this was a brand new approach in school operations and offered great benefits to families. These programs included study halls, ballet, tap dancing, music lessons, piano instruction, theater, and athletic programs. In many ways, Dr. Leisey created a STEAM program before the term existed.
Expanding Across Northern California
Under his guidance, Merryhill Country School quickly expanded. In 1980, Merryhill Country School opened its first middle school, adding 7th and 8th grades to the flagship campus on Eastern Avenue. At this time, Merryhill expanded across the greater Sacramento area with 10 locations. During his ownership, Dr. Leisey expanded even further and operated 22 locations in Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, and Santa Rosa.
In 1989, Merryhill was acquired by Rocking Horse Child Care Center, Inc., which recognized the quality of Merryhill’s courses and programs. At the time, the word “Country” was removed from the Merryhill School name, thus reverting to the original name. In 1992, Rocking Horse rebranded to Nobel Education Dynamics, under the leadership of Jack and Scott Clegg. Their goal was to build a group of private schools focused on strong academics and community partnership.
Under the Cleggs’ leadership, the organization underwent a transformation in vision and operations. They recognized during school site visits that the company’s true strength lay not merely in daycare services, but in delivering curriculum-based education. He emphasized the company’s unique educational programs as foundation for future growth, shifting the organization from child care centers to structured, curriculum-based preschools.
Building School Communities, Cluster by Cluster
The shift in strategy also changed the company’s expansion model. Rather than spreading across wide regions, the Cleggs adopted a deliberate approach of clustering schools within specific geographic regions. A typical expansion started with acquiring or converting a single school in a new market, then building or acquiring additional preschools nearby under the same brand name. Once a strong preschool network was in place, the company would add centrally located elementary and middle schools. This cluster would remain the same educational system from preschool through middle school, building community ties and academic continuity. Nobel Education Dynamics became Nobel Learning Communities in 1998.
In 1998, the first Merryhill School outside of California was opened in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2009, the brand expanded to Arlington Texas. In 2016, Merryhill School locations opened in Colorado.
The Merryhill Method: Curious Today. Confident for Life.
Since 1949, Merryhill has seen new leadership, new campuses, and new students. Yet one thing has remained constant: every child is valued, known by name, and encouraged to take an active role in their learning. It’s the foundation of the Merryhill Method, which builds confidence, resilience, and independence through active participation, helping students grow into capable, adaptable individuals.
Today, Merryhill School is a part of Spring Education Group, a network of private schools committed to providing outstanding educational outcomes to students across America. This partnership gives every Merryhill campus access to shared resources and best practices, while continuing to bring the Merryhill Method to life in its own community.
