New Lightbridge Academy Sets Record for Highest Number of Enrollees

19 arrived just as Becky Grovenstein and her husband Brian, parents of a 3- and 7-year-old, were finalizing the opening of their first Lightbridge Academy, an early education and child care franchise with over 50 locations open.

Suddenly, priorities shifted. As the pandemic spread, parents were no longer just concerned about their child’s education; now they also were worried more about their health and well-being.

So would nervous parents trust that their children would be in safe hands if enrolled in the Grovensteins’ new child care center?

The answer was a resounding yes.

When Lightbridge Academy debuted in Holly Springs, North Carolina last September, the location set a record for the highest pre-launch enrollment in the franchise’s history.

The strong start was a relief for Becky Grovenstein, a music educator who opened her location in order to secure her passion for education in the field she loved most, amongst many other reasons.

So how did Grovenstein assure parents that Lightbridge Academy was the right choice during this difficult time?

Grovenstein knew that she would have to change the conversation to address the elephant in the room during a pandemic: health and safety.

“We put on our ‘mom hats’,” she said. “That means we put ourselves in the position of the families and thought about all the things that they’re concerned about,” Grovenstein said. “When the need to earn a livelihood and help support their family, they're wondering, ‘how am I going to make sure that my child is safe and being well cared for?’”

For Grovenstein, that meant placing an extra emphasis on Lightbridge Academy’s enhanced health and safety measures. “When we took families on a tour of the center, our thought process was about building trust between us and the family. We discussed about how we keep the rooms clean, how we sanitize throughout the day, how we have a cleaning crew who cleans every night, and how we wash the crib sheets every single night.”

This wasn’t just business to Grovenstein. This was personal: Both of her children attend this school as well.

“With both of my children coming to my school, communication and being transparent — truly being transparent — is really important when it comes to building trust with other parents,” she said.

“I have a background in music education, so when we chose Lightbridge Academy, yes, I looked at the opportunity through the teacher lens, but also through the mom lens,” she said. “I did not want to open a school that I would not trust to put my own children in.”

Another key selling point during that conversation was the cleaning technology the facility used. The Lightbridge in Holly Springs opened with a state-of-the-art Microcon air purification and filtration system that is built into the HVAC. It works even when the HVAC is off and not only cleans the air but also decontaminates all visible surfaces as well.

“It’s like we have a special super power,” Grovenstein said. “It’s like a shield that we carry with us. So we know we follow all the protocols, and we are all masked, and we are all cleaning constantly.”

Even amid community concerns about COVID-19, the Holly Springs location continues to grow, and Grovenstein already is reaching capacity in the majority of her center’s classrooms.

“It’s like a sprint all the time, but it’s been wonderful,” she said.