Today we’d like to introduce you to Chaitra Giridhara.
Chaitra, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Teaching runs in my family! My grandfather was a University Professor, and my mother established and ran an Elementary school back in India. I worked as a preschool teacher in Frisco for about six years before deciding to start our own school called Learning Cube Academy here in Plano, along with Veena Kashyap, a good friend of mine. Her father was a teacher as well and has established a school in India. We both love working with young children and helping build a really strong foundation for them in the early years.
Has it been a smooth road?
Well, I will say it has been an interesting ride! Not everything always turns out the way you imagine, but we were prepared for some bumps along the way. We first had to contend with some construction delays last year and opened our school late last year in 2019. Just as things were ramping up, COVID-19 hit us during Spring Break of 2020. For the safety of our children, and our team members, we could not continue with regular classes on campus.
We decided to pivot and redesign our classes for virtual sessions – we tried to keep it short, but engaging. As you might expect, it is not easy to keep young children engaged over video sessions. But we embraced technology and have brought in continuous interactivity with our teachers during the live (but virtual) classroom sessions. We are now in month five of our virtual classrooms and not only are our children continuing to learn and have fun, but we also have had interest and enrollments from across several cities throughout the US (and a couple from Europe as well) – thanks to the expanded nature of our virtual classrooms.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Learning Cube Academy – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Learning Cube Academy is a preschool that caters to young children between the ages of 2 through 6, and we just launched a new enrichment and support program for elementary children between K-5 attending virtual ISD programs through their ISD’s. We started Learning Cube Academy with a goal to make the first schooling experience for young children to be extremely positive and memorable. We believe the first set of learning experiences children encounter plays an important role in shaping well mannered, responsible, thinking citizens of the future!
At Learning Cube Academy, children are constantly introduced to interesting ideas that kindle curiosity and imagination through interactive experiences around them. Whether it is in our physical classrooms, or through our virtual classrooms, we put a lot of emphasis on live, interactive teaching that caters to every child in the classroom. We focus on a well-rounded, broad curriculum that blends academics with programs that introduce a second language (Spanish), Yoga and Music.
We are extremely proud of our team of teachers. In spite of the challenges brought about by the pandemic, our team has stood tall and continued to innovate to bring the best out of our children. While we have had to adapt and experiment with various methods to engage with children virtually, our team has done this with an unwavering focus on the learning needs of the children. Our Facebook and Instagram page has several video snippets of how we have delivered live, interactive classes to children from virtually all over the US during this time!
What’s your favorite memory from childhood?
My grandfather won a gold medal when he graduated from his college, finishing with the highest academic honors at the top of his class. When I was in middle school, my grandmother would allow me to wear that gold medal with a chain during special/festive occasions, and she would proudly repeat the story of how he won that medal! I was beyond thrilled and it was one of my favorite memories from my childhood!
Contact Info:
- Address: 3425 Ashington Lane, Plano, Texas
- Website: www.lcaplano.com
- Phone: 972-905-5994
- Email: director@lcaplano.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/learningcubeacademy/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearningCubeAcademy/
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