With an increasing number of D.C.-area school systems starting the year virtually, early learning schools and child care facilities could step up and fill a big need for parents.
Places that normally offer daylong care for younger kids, and before- and after-school care for older kids, could become the places where those older kids sit through their virtual school day.
鈥淲e will be housing a lot of those children and providing what we鈥檙e calling virtual learning assistance,鈥� said Dr. Kristi Smith, director of education and training for Children鈥檚 Lighthouse, an early learning schools franchise system. 鈥淲e will facilitate their learning; we won鈥檛 substitute for their schoolteachers.鈥�
Children鈥檚 Lighthouse is based in Fort Worth, Texas, and has more than 50 locations nationally, though none are in the D.C. area. Still, Smith called virtual learning assistance 鈥渁 huge trend for our industry. We鈥檙e seeing it with most early learning franchise systems and most child care corporations.鈥�
Smith added this solution won鈥檛 work in every situation, 鈥渂ecause licensed child care 鈥� there鈥檚 quite a cost to it.鈥�
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