Lightbridge Academy Empowers Staff and Families with LineLeader
Lightbridge Academy, a large early childhood education franchise with over 133 locations, partnered with LineLeader by ChildcareCRM in 2016 to streamline their operations and family communications by consolidating multiple software platforms into one integrated system, enabling staff to reduce administrative tasks and focus more on nurturing relationships with children and families while maintaining high-quality care and education.
Lightbridge Academy was founded in 1997 and has grown to over 133 locations across 12 states. The company is known as 'The Solution for Working Parents' and is dedicated to meeting the evolving needs of families while delivering high-quality early childhood education. Their CEO, Gigi Schweikert, and Chairman and Founder, Guy Falzarano, entrusted the management and daily operations of their growing franchise business to LineLeader by ChildcareCRM.
Lightbridge Academy balances nurturing care with a unique early childhood education curriculum that helps children grow and develop in a safe, happy environment.
"From the first hello of the day, to its last good-bye, we ensure every child feels safe, nurtured and excited to learn and grow with us... We go beyond what's expected, creating a one-of-a-kind educational experience for the children we care for and the families who cherish them."
—Gigi Schweikert, CEO, Lightbridge Academy
Feeling Overextended with Daily Tasks and Multiple Platforms
Lightbridge Academy is one of the nation's largest providers of child care, operating over 100 centers across 12 states. The company began using LineLeader's management system and family engagement app in 2016 to address the challenges of managing a growing franchise organization.
Gigi Schweikert shared that employees were spending too much time on administrative work due to the use of multiple tech platforms. The goal was to integrate these systems so employees could focus more on relationship building with parents, teachers, and children.
With LineLeader by ChildcareCRM, Lightbridge:
- Streamlines communication with families
- Builds a high-quality family experience
- Innovates with new technology
The Search for a System That Could Grow With Them
Before LineLeader, Lightbridge was using four different software platforms to manage center operations, which was inefficient and added extra work for staff. They needed a solution to reduce the number of platforms and scale their franchise without increasing the workload.
Gigi explained the need for a system that would help them be more efficient, enable growth, and allow them to focus on relationships with enrolled students and families.
Developing a Laundry List of Essential Functions and Capabilities
Ben Blake, Lightbridge Academy's CIO, sought a childcare management platform capable of handling rapid growth. He created a list of over 110 requirements to compare available options. After evaluating several vendors, the final decision came down to eight factors:
- Business continuity
- Overall cost
- Ability to integrate with existing tools
- Total process from conception to development, rollout, and support
- Ability to replace existing systems
- Scalability and reliability
- Data protection and security
- Ability (and patience) to work with one of the biggest childcare businesses in the US
After a rigorous selection process, LineLeader was chosen for its ability to replace existing tools, integrate with payroll systems, offer data protection, and make the business scalable and more efficient.
"We chose to partner [with LineLeader] because we felt we could do something exceptional in the field together. We believe in them, we believe in their company and we believe in their culture. And we think it's an excellent partnership."
—Gigi Schweikert, CEO, Lightbridge Academy
The Right Tools Help Empower Staff to Deliver Exceptional Care Experiences
Since partnering with LineLeader, Lightbridge Academy has opened more than a dozen new center locations and can track center performance with ease. Even during the pandemic, they opened 10 centers in one year, with more scheduled to open.
Staff have been empowered to focus more on building relationships with families and providing superior enrollment experiences, leading to increased family engagement and parent satisfaction across all locations.
With LineLeader, Lightbridge Academy is positioned for continued growth and success.
A Unified Platform to Manage Your Entire Business
- Capture and convert more leads. Automate lead follow-up, tour scheduling, registration, and reporting.
- Automate daily reports and share memorable moments. Easily communicate with parents with the family engagement app.
- Automate billing and invoicing. Manage classroom ratios and curriculum. Track and report on attendance, payroll, and more.