LCGI Learning Care Grp. (MM)

The search for high-quality infant child care has increasingly become a major issue for parents in cities throughout the United States -- particularly New York. But, with this month's opening of a new Tutor Time Child Care/Learning Center, a small reprieve will be granted to area parents. The Tutor Time, located at 776 Avenue of the Americas in Chelsea, will be licensed to care for 44 children between six weeks and 18 months in age, as well as provide all-day slots for children up to five years in age, after-school care and summer camp programs. The center is hosting an Open House on Saturday, February 25 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and is scheduled to open for business on Monday, February 27. "The numbers of working mothers and dual income families have increased exponentially in the last two decades--and with that, the demand for quality child care," stated Gabe Colmenares, Tutor Time franchisee and owner of the Chelsea center. "Our new center will help alleviate a little of the stress that new parents face when returning to work by providing a premier child care and early learning environment that is safe, loving, fun and educational." With New York State Licensing requiring an infant to teacher ratio of four to one, as well as additional space per child, centers providing infant care spend significantly more on staffing and care when compared to other age groups. "Unfortunately, at many centers, the cost in providing infant care has limited the number of available slots," explained Colmenares. "We made a conscious decision when designing our center's business plan and layout, so we could provide a higher-than-average number of infant slots." Tutor Time also stands apart from competitors by providing comprehensive educational offerings for the very youngest infants through school-age. Starting at the beginning of this school year, the company began to roll-out a new proprietary early learning curriculum, Tutor Time LifeSmart(TM), beginning with in the preschool and pre-kindergarten classrooms. Tutor Time LifeSmart(TM)--developed by nationally recognized early education experts and researchers, and based on the latest research findings--is designed to support, nurture and educate children in developmentally appropriate ways. Incorporating the constructivist view of early learning put forth by esteemed researchers Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson and Lev Vygotsky, Tutor Time LifeSmart(TM) encourages children to be active participants in their early learning experiences. "Our aim at Tutor Time is to reach out to each child and inspire a life-long love of learning," explained Colmenares. The curriculum also utilizes basic tenets most recently put forth by Dr. Howard Gardner of Harvard University regarding the developmental theory of "multiple intelligences". Gardner postulated that human beings are gifted or are intelligent in eight different ways. Tutor Time's curriculum and re-imagined classroom environments were designed to provide young children with foundational exploratory experiences of all eight areas of intelligence. "Research has shown providing children with high-quality early care and educational experiences from very early on in life can have a profound impact how well a child does in school and life, in general," stated Colmenares. "Tutor Time's approach to care and early learning strives to provide an environment that helps achieve this important goal." About Tutor Time Child Care/Learning Centers: As the nation's premier child care provider, Tutor Time offers academically-based care for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years, to families in 20 states and 5 countries. For more information about Tutor Time- Manhattan/Chelsea, please contact 212-683-5020, or visit us at www.tutortime.com.