Teachers Sharon Calle and Wendy Geise were laid off Wednesday from The Grove School, which recently opened on Laura Duncan Drive.

"We didn't receive any notice, and we were not able to say goodbye to the kids," Calle said.

The Portland-based Knowledge Learning Corporation, which owns the KinderCare brand, launched The Grove School two months ago in Cary and Plano, Texas, a wealthy suburb of Dallas.

Calle, Geise and three other teachers were hired in early January.

Calle said she was drawn to the school's "healthy body, healthy mind, healthy planet" approach, which touts the importance of teaching recycling and nutrition alongside math and music.

The school also commands monthly tuition upwards of $1,200 at a time when cash-strapped families are spending less on private school education.

Calle said that 11 students were enrolled last week.

The low enrollment comes after months of aggressive marketing.

Scott Andersen, head of the Cary school, said the decision to cut teachers was difficult.

"As any business, we are constantly reevaluating resources," he said "We had hoped to ramp up faster than we did."

He said the school's enrollment was still growing and was expected to meet enrollment targets for the fall.