The new owners
The ownership letter introduces Shawn Honaryar and Ben Zheng as “committed Portland school operators” with “over a decade of deep experience in early childhood education.” Public records present a more detailed picture.
- 2020B.A. Physics, Dartmouth College (magna cum laude)
- 2020–22Finance
Goldman Sachs — Investment Banking Analyst, New York - 2022–24Private Equity
BC Partners — Associate, New York. BC Partners manages ~€40B across buyout and credit. While still in this role, Shawn began acquiring preschools. - 2022–24Concurrent
Acquired and operated Little Blooms Academy (Dec 2022–Sept 2024) and Grantham Children’s Academy (Sept 2023–Sept 2024) while employed at BC Partners. - 2024–Current
Co-Founder & President, Aspen Academies (founded December 2024). Leads curriculum, community programming, and teacher compensation.
- 2018B.A. Applied Mathematics / Statistics, Harvard (cum laude)
- 2018–23Tech
Google — Software Engineer (Sheets) and Product Manager (Search), 5 years - 2024Private Equity
Anacapa Partners — brief PE role, May–Aug 2024 - 2023–25Education
MBA, Harvard Business School (George F. Baker Scholar — awarded to top 5% of class). Concurrent with Aspen’s founding. - 2024–Current
Co-Founder & COO, Aspen Academies (founded December 2024). Oversees operations, technology, and back-office systems.
Aspen Academies
Aspen Academies is the company through which Shawn and Ben acquire and operate preschools. Founded December 2024, it describes itself as “the leading early education company” with a mission to “redefine premium early education.”
Their ownership transitions page actively markets to preschool owners looking to sell, targeting single- or multi-site operations in the western United States. They state they are “proudly founder-owned with no outside investors” — a claim worth tracking as the portfolio grows.
The M&A deal team
LinkedIn profiles for Aspen Academies employees reveal a structured acquisition operation with junior analysts sourcing and evaluating hundreds of schools. The language in their public job descriptions is from their own profiles.
Prior acquisitions
Before Small Wonders, Shawn acquired two schools while at BC Partners, then Aspen Academies acquired two Oregon preschool groups after its founding.
Acquired by Shawn December 2022, while employed at BC Partners. Operated until September 2024 when Aspen Academies was being formed. View reviews on Google →
Acquired by Shawn September 2023, also while at BC Partners. Operated until September 2024. View reviews on Google →
Location: 2793 SE Powell Valley Rd, Gresham, OR →. Bilingual (Spanish/English), ages 6 weeks–12 years.
View the prior owner’s testimonial on Aspen’s site.
Locations: Sherwood, Tigard, and Pearl District.
Formerly Creative Kidz, founded 2011. The Tigard location became Curious Minds under Aspen management; a Wilsonville location was separately rebranded as Kids Cove. STEAM curriculum.
Summit Day School was registered as an assumed business name in Oregon on February 6, 2026. The registration number is 252808598.
Policy & business strategy
Public LinkedIn profiles for Aspen Academies analysts explicitly describe monitoring Oregon’s childcare policy landscape as part of their acquisition strategy. Multnomah County’s Preschool for All (PFA) program is a significant force in Portland preschool economics.
PFA funds free preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds in Multnomah County via an income tax on high earners. Private operators — including for-profit ones — can participate as partner sites and receive public funding per enrolled child.
The program has grown from 728 seats in 2022–23 to 3,800+ seats in 2025–26 — a program too large for any Portland preschool operator to ignore when building a business plan. Learn more about PFA →
The Aspen M&A analyst role explicitly included: “Analyzed state-level childcare initiatives, local tuition rates, and supply-demand imbalances to support selection of a second expansion market following Portland, Oregon.”
This is employee language from their LinkedIn. Whether and how PFA participation factors into their plans for Small Wonders is an open question worth asking directly.
Financing
Aspen says they have “no outside investors.” Their acquisitions appear to be financed through commercial loans. Debt financing means full ownership is retained — but loan obligations must be serviced, creating ongoing financial pressure that shapes business decisions.
- Ready Capital Named directly in a testimonial on Aspen’s site. The prior Summit Day School owner cited Ready Capital specifically: their established lender relationship allowed the Summit acquisition to close in 15 days after signing the purchase agreement.
- Meriwether Group Capital Meriwether Group Capital is a Portland-based private lender focused on small and mid-sized businesses. In November 2025, they published a LinkedIn post announcing a financing transaction with Aspen Academies. The deal amount and specific schools covered are not disclosed in public records.
- Deal scale Aspen’s own M&A analyst LinkedIn profiles describe advancing “~$30M of actionable deal flow” and building “multi-year operating models incorporating enrollment growth, pricing, wage inflation, benefits, and debt service coverage.” This suggests the financing picture is more structured than a simple small-business loan.
- What this means Debt-financed acquisition is not the same as large private equity ownership. Aspen appears to be boutique private equity with no investors or return expectations beyond Shawn and Ben. The financial pressure comes from loan repayment and their own investing goals — different in structure, but not without consequence for how the business must perform at each school site. Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley has launched a federal investigation into private equity ownership of childcare centers more broadly.
Open questions
These are the questions our community is sitting with. We’ll update this list as we get answers and add new ones as they surface. Submit yours using the form below.
This announcement arrived after reenrollment contracts were signed and first deposits collected for 2026–27. Were families given the opportunity to make that commitment with full information about the ownership change?
What was the structure of the purchase? What is the lease term and what protections exist for continuity?
The letter says current tuition rates “will not be impacted as part of this ownership transfer.” What does that mean for future increases — and when is the first potential rate change?
All staff will be “rehired.” Does this involve new employment agreements? Will compensation, benefits, hours, or employment classification change for any current employees?
Aspen’s M&A team publicly describes targeting “15+ markets” and “2,300+ M&A leads.” What is the intended portfolio size, and how does rapid growth affect attention to individual schools?
How are financial decisions made across the portfolio? Does each school operate with its own budget, or are resources allocated centrally across locations?
Does Aspen plan to pursue participation in Multnomah County’s Preschool for All program at Small Wonders? If so, how would that affect enrollment priorities, tuition, or program character?
The letter mentions “new additions” alongside continuity. What specifically is changing — curriculum, enrollment capacity, hours, programming, or fees?
What is the plan if Natalie, Tahlia, or Molly decide not to continue under new ownership? The school’s continuity rests heavily on these individuals remaining.
Shawn acquired schools while still employed at BC Partners. What was the nature of that arrangement, and does the current acquisition of Small Wonders involve any external institutional relationships?
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