Lightbridge Academy® Joins the Early Care & Education Consortium

Lightbridge Academy® — a leading early education and child care franchise with a footprint of more than 120 centers open, under construction or in development in markets across the U.S. — has joined the Early Care & Education Consortium (ECEC), a nonprofit alliance that serves as a unified voice for early education and care around the world. 

The role of child care has never been more important following the COVID-19 pandemic, and Lightbridge Academy CEO Gigi Schweikert said the franchise will work with the nonprofit to provide this essential service to the communities that need it the most.

“We are very proud to be a part of a massive provider network that shares a common goal in providing equitable and sustainable early childhood education and care for every child throughout the country,” said Schweikert. 

The ECEC represents over 6,500 child care programs in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and select international locations. Members of the ECEC work to amplify the voices of providers of high-quality programs and services that support families and children from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. 

“Right now, because of the pandemic, our country is reevaluating the importance of child care, and we are looking at where we need to build out our infrastructure,” said Schweikert. “As people work in a bipartisan way to achieve quality education and care for every child, we need to realize that there can be unintended negative consequences to limiting private participation and using only public delivery systems. It really takes a village, and we will work with the ECEC and local government officials to leverage our decades of expertise and existing systems to help provide quality early education and care to disadvantaged children and families.”

Founded on a Circle of Care® philosophy that places equal importance on the needs of children, their families, teachers, center owners and the community, Lightbridge Academy prides itself on being a leading provider of quality child care during uncertain times. As part of ECEC, Lightbridge Academy will contribute its unique perspective on educational child care to collaborate with peers and advocate on behalf of children and families. 

“This partnership is incredibly important to Lightbridge Academy because, regardless of whether you serve 10,000 children or one child, we believe the goal of child care should be what is best for children,” said Schweikert. “We are excited to work with ECEC and help make decisions that are best for children and families across the country.”

About Lightbridge Academy®

Established in 1997, Lightbridge Academy® provides early education and child care to children ages 6 weeks through kindergarten, as well as special programming for children up to 10 years old during school holidays, breaks and summer camp. The company franchised in 2011 in an effort to expand its distinctive concept throughout the Northeast. It currently has over 100 child care centers either open, under construction or in development throughout Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Guy and Julia Falzarano founded the company based on core values and a Circle of Care philosophy that places equal importance on the needs of children, their families, teachers, center owners, and the community. In 2019 and 2020, Lightbridge Academy was ranked on Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500, and it was featured on the Franchise Times Top 200+ in 2018 and 2019. To learn more about Lightbridge Academy®, prospective families and franchisees are encouraged to visit http://www.LightbridgeAcademy.com or call (732) 980-1900 x 199.