Peter Hernandez
Founder
About Excelementary
In service of our young learners.
Everything we build serves the child in front of us — and the thinker she is becoming. We teach these early years carefully because of how far they carry.
Where it began
It began in a classroom.
In 1995, Peter Hernandez — an MBA-trained executive at AT&T — left the corporate world to become a public-school teacher. Within a year he had seen the pattern that would define the next twenty-nine: children disengaged from learning, not because they couldn't do the work, but because the instruction was never built to meet them in the way they actually learn.
The results were the ones families know too well. Children struggled to read, hesitated to write, and felt defeated by math. It was never only his classroom, and nearly three decades later the problem is still with us — the national numbers say so plainly.
31%
of U.S. fourth-graders scored at or above proficient in reading (NAEP, 2024).
39%
of U.S. fourth-graders scored at or above proficient in math (NAEP, 2024).
Source: The Nation's Report Card — reading and mathematics, 2024.
Our mission
Excelementary builds joyful mastery of foundational reading and mathematics in children ages 3 to 5, during the years the brain builds these skills most efficiently, freeing the mind to think, question, reason, and create.
Because the mind we free today writes the story to come.
Our standard of excellence
We don't protect children from depth. We build toward it.
Why we start at three
This window of growth doesn't stay open.
Think of these years as the season when the soil is at its richest: reading, reasoning, writing and mathematical thinking take root with an ease the brain won't offer again. Researchers call what follows the Matthew effect — a child who builds these foundations early doesn't just start ahead, she grows faster, reads more and understands more, and that advantage widens every year. Miss the season and the soil is still there, but what took weeks now takes longer, and what felt effortless now takes effort.
Our team
The family behind Excelementary.
Excelementary is founded, led, and taught by our mission-driven family — a team personally invested in every child we serve. We see our mission as an opportunity for service, kindness and patience. From our family to yours, we consider it a privilege to partner with you in this journey.
Daniel Hernandez
Director
Christopher Hernandez
Lead Teacher
Lupe Hernandez
Head of Operations
Where we are
Small enough to support every child.
Excelementary is a home-based early learning program in Irvine, California — a small, nurturing, and supportive learning environment. Operating in our home lets us keep ratios low to support every child's unique needs.
A look inside our space.
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Come meet the family behind the classroom.
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