by Sue Ann Rybak

Philadelphia Nanny Network is providing free remote learning support for families of employees who work in healthcare through June.

"Philadelphia Nanny Network, the go-to agency for nannies and babysitters, and the largest corporate sponsor of backup care in the Philadelphia region, wants to give back to the community by supporting people in the healthcare industry,” said Wendy Sachs, founder and CEO of Philadelphia Nanny Network.

When Gov. Tom Wolfe issued a stay-at-home directive to stop the spread of the coronavirus, she said many parents thought, "Schools are closed, but I am working from home. So, I can take care of my kids, help them manage their schoolwork, and do my work."

"They realized pretty quickly that it's not easy to juggle everything," Sachs said.

She said the company heard from so many people about the challenge of balancing their work and their child's schoolwork that they decided to create a School@Home virtual learning program.

She added that "with COVID-19, the whole idea of going in and out of people's homes is on hold right now."

"So, we had an entire workforce, a team of nannies who were sidelined right now," she said. "As a way to help parents manage their children, we created the School@Home program, which is managed by our nannies, who are now called e-learning aids because they are not tutors."

Sachs said the e-learning aids help students "manage their schoolwork, stay on task, focused and organized with their daily assignments."

"Instead of a parent coming out of their work area saying, 'did you do this,' she said. "They are totally removed from the equation, and the e-learning aide is the one keeping them accountable."

Recently, Sachs said she had a case where a mom thought her child was handing in all his assignments and was "staying on top of things" until she received a phone call from the teacher. Unfortunately, the teacher informed her that it was "not the reality."

Sachs said she was happy when the mother forwarded her an email, she received from her son's teacher saying that he is doing great. The teacher said in the email that the client's son is turning his assignments in on time, and even taking practice tests.

"He is having a whole different experience with school," she said.

A recent article in The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that only 57 percent of Philadelphia School Students were participating in school remotely.

The School District of Philadelphia School year officially ends on June 12, but final grades go in the week before.

Sachs said they knew a lot of healthcare workers were struggling to help their children with schoolwork because they had to leave their homes to go to work; they are not home to provide any guidance or oversight to help their kids with their schoolwork.

"We wanted to do something to thank our healthcare workers for taking care of us during this pandemic," she said. "So, we are offering this program free to people working in the healthcare industry."

She added that it is not just for doctors and nurses, but for anyone who is working in the healthcare industry, such as housekeeping staff, administration, certified nursing assistants, paramedics, etc. To sign-up for the program, go to their website at nannyagency.com and fill out a form. If you are unsure whether you qualify for the free plan, Sachs suggests you call 610-645-6550.