Lightbridge Academy Enters New York City with Three New Center Openings - Midtown West, Prospect Heights and Downtown Brooklyn

Lightbridge Academy, the fast-growing early education and child care franchise, has begun enrolling students at three new locations in New York City, the first locations for the brand in the city. 

At a time when working parents are returning to work, stretched thin and child care options are scarce, these new locations — in Midtown Manhattan, Prospect Heights in Brooklyn and Downtown Brooklyn — will provide crucial early education and child care support. 

Lightbridge Academy offers a high level of early education programs to children aged six weeks through Pre-K. The proprietary Seedlings Early Childhood Education Curriculum takes a “whole child” approach and meets the standard of accreditation for the Association for Early Learning Leaders and the National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs.

The brand has gone above and beyond to respond to parent’s concerns during the pandemic with the creation of the Lightbridge Promise, which reinforces the brand’s commitment to health and safety. It represents the Gold Standard for cleanliness, security and peace of mind in the child care industry.

Among the innovations included in the Lightbridge Promise is a system-wide initiative to install a state-of-the-art air purification and filtration system that uses an advanced oxidation process to continuously purify the air and all visible surfaces. It is similar to the system used in hospitals, “clean room” facilities and even being tested in the New York subway system.

“We’re excited to offer a higher level of care and quality early education to families in New York City,” said Lightbridge Founder and CEO Guy Falzarano. “We know that parents need our support and are still struggling to balance the realities of returning to work with ensuring the health and safety of their children. We are proud to be The Solution for Working Parents®.”

Lightbridge Academy: Midtown West

The prime Midtown West location, which will open Spring of 2021, is an 11,500-square-foot state-of-the-art child care center located in the street-level space of The Max, a new luxury high-rise at 602 W. 57th Street.

The Midtown location is owned by Mihir Daiya, who also owns a Lightbridge Academy location in Hoboken, New Jersey, along with his longtime friend, Vinay Bhimjian. It will be the first location in New York City and the fifth Lightbridge Academy in the state of New York.

Daiya discovered the Lighbridge brand in 2018 when he was looking for reliable childcare options for his then four-year-old daughter.

“Lightbridge Academy’s focus on providing high-quality child care, a strong early education curriculum and state-of-the-art technology has always been a draw for me,” said Daiya. “But it’s also their philosophy of creating a Circle of Care for families that I find made the difference for me, and what separates this brand from others.” 

Lightbridge’s philosophy creates a nurturing learning environment where parents, children, staff members, as well as the community and franchise owners come together as a family to create a trusted Circle of Care.

The two entrepreneurs are looking to expand within urban areas of New York City, and are currently looking at sites in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island City, Queens.

Lightbridge Academy: Prospect Heights & Downtown Brooklyn

Belinda Nti and April Bethune came from Wall Street, where they put their financial acumen to work for big-name corporations like CitiGroup, MetLife, Merrill Lynch and Deutsch.

Now the two female entrepreneurs, both working mothers, are pursuing careers with deeper personal meaning, ones that will enable them to make a difference and connect them to their community. 

Bethune was introduced to the brand by Wendy Sylvester, the owner of a Lightbridge Academy of Baldwin, New York, who felt the leading child care brand sounded like the right opportunity for the pair. 

The new Lightbridge located at 243 St. Marks Ave. in Prospect Heights is officially open and actively enrolling for all aged programs. The location is close to Atlantic Terminal and the subway, and Prospect Park, making it a convenient location for busy working parents. 

Additionally, another state-of-the-art Lightbridge location, owned and operated by the corporate team, will also open this summer in Brooklyn’s downtown area at 237 Duffield St. This center is in the heart of downtown Brooklyn - conveniently surrounded by public transportation terminals and steps from the Brooklyn Bridge. The center is wrapping up their construction and also enrolling for infant, toddler and pre-k programs as well as their weekly themed Summer program.

“These new centers in Midtown and Brooklyn represent an important milestone for Lightbridge Academy,” said Falzarano. “We are now able to provide our exceptional level of child care to more people than ever before, as well as to create increased recognition of our brand as a leader and innovator in the educational child care industry.” 

About Lightbridge Academy

Established in 1997, 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. Lightbridge Academy provides early education and child care to children ages six weeks through kindergarten, as well as special programming for children up to 10 years old for summer camp and a new school age remote learning program. The company franchised in 2011 to expand their distinctive concept throughout the Mid-Atlantic region; it currently has over 119 child care centers either open, under construction or in development throughout Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia. In response to COVID-19, Lightbridge Academy rolled out The Lightbridge Promise as the Gold Standard in child care health protocols prioritizing the safety of everyone in the company's Circle of Care. In 2020, the company was featured on the Inc. 5000 ranking, Franchise Times Top 200+ awards, and Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500. Lightbridge Academy was also recognized on Newsweek’s 2021 list of America’s Best Customer Service.