Houston-area early childhood education startup launches app to find at-home educators

on-demand

A Houston startup is using technology to provide on-demand educators. Educational First Steps/Facebook

A Houston-area early childhood care and education startup and MassChallenge Texas in Austin 2020 participant, recently launched its 24/7 on-demand, two-sided marketplace platform that provides benefits for both parents and guardians or child care operators who need qualified educators quickly.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many parents are still juggling a full-time job and childcare at the same time. The launch of a marketplace platform app like OpenStaff aims to solve that problem, providing temporary or permanent childcare and teacher personnel to families and childcare operators across the Houston area, until children are able to safely go back to their daycare centers or classrooms.

"OpenStaff's Educational Mentors provide a structure that allows your child and family to retain some much-needed normalcy," says Jose Rodriguez, CEO and founder. "Our fully certified early childhood teachers and practitioners use their knowledge and experience to further a child's education while providing a safe, fun, and caring learning experience at home."

The app was launched on iOS platforms and is actively being user tested while they continue to build their database of qualified early childhood educators and substitute teachers for families and centers. All their educators comply with child care licensing regulations, completing a rigorous vetting process before they are allowed to join the platform.

"When you hire someone through our platform," says Rodriguez, "you have the peace of mind and our assurance that this teacher has been qualified, certified, background checked, and licensed in order to become a member of the OpenStaff educator community."

The early-stage startup came about from Rodriguez's first business, a childcare center that he took over six years ago with his wife. For them, the biggest challenge in this industry was staff management, dealing with unplanned absences would change plans drastically, sometimes changing teaching plans or restructuring classes.

"Even though we have an amazing team, sometimes life happens and they are not available to come into work that morning," says Rodriguez. "It was very stressful for office managers and owners as well as the rest of the team and if we were unable to find anyone to cover, even my wife or I would end up in the classroom."

That's when he started using staffing agencies for unplanned temporary workers but those, he says, are time-consuming and overpriced.

"We wanted to offer a different option that really works for everyone, not just parents during this crisis but also daycare centers," says Rodriguez. "Our app provides an open marketplace where centers can post a job by simply using their phone and receive applicants in minutes."

OpenStaff is currently focused on taking its service to the market, using the data and feedback as a way to make their offering better to then accelerate and scale, as many childcare centers continue to struggle to operate or find a sense of normalcy amid the social distancing measures that are the new normal.

"Many childcare centers have been hard hit during the coronavirus pandemic," says Rodriguez. "Many are struggling, closing their business, or operating with limited staff and children. With our app, we can, in the short term, help Houston families by providing quality education for their children."

A new business accelerator is launching to help grow access to child care. Educational First Steps/Facebook

Business accelerator focused on child care centers launches in Houston following $3M grant

for the kids

A Houston-based organization has launched the state's first business accelerator program focused on child care centers in order to strengthen Texans' access to child care.

The Texas Workforce Commission has awarded Collaborative for Children a $3 million grant as the organization has rolled out an eight-week business training program that will provide instruction and guidance for budgeting, performance management and emergency preparedness within the K-12 space.

"We are thrilled that the state has entrusted us with this grant to build a program that will provide the support so many child care programs need, particularly those in quality child care deserts," says Melanie Johnson, president and CEO of Collaborative for Children, in a news release. "Child care is a priority for every community. It makes it possible for parents to earn a living and for businesses to have a stable workforce, but most importantly, it prepares our youngest citizens for the 21st century workforce. We must gird our child care system so that child care programs not only survive, but also thrive after the next crisis."

The program is a collaboration between Collaborative for Children and Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government and Public Policy Center for Nonprofits and Philanthropy. The school will be providing resources and will develop several online modules for the accelerator.

Collaborative for Children has also created a Centers of Excellence program as a part of the accelerator, and the Houston area has 24 locations within the program. The COEs will receive support within the program and have been recognized as providing "high-quality early childhood education." The type of support the COEs receive include professional development, emotional support, access to tallent, marketing help, and more.

The organization has been in Houston supporting local child care professionals since the late 1980s. Collaborative for Children has several programs for educators and families and has specialized COVID-19 help online as well.

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Houston company awarded $2.5B NASA contract to support astronaut health and space missions

space health

Houston-based technology and energy solution company KBR has been awarded a $2.5 billion NASA contract to support astronaut health and reduce risks during spaceflight missions.

Under the terms of the Human Health and Performance Contract 2, KBR will provide support services for several programs, including the Human Research Program, International Space Station Program, Commercial Crew Program, Artemis campaign and others. This will include ensuring crew health, safety, and performance; occupational health services and risk mitigation research for future flights.

“This contract reinforces KBR’s leadership in human spaceflight operations and highlights our expertise in supporting NASA’s vision for space exploration,” Mark Kavanaugh, KBR president of defense, intel and space, said in a news release.

The five-year contract will begin Nov. 1 with possible extension option periods that could last through 2035. The total estimated value of the base period plus the optional periods is $3.6 billion, and the majority of the work will be done at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

“We’re proud to support NASA’s critical work on long-duration space travel, including the Artemis missions, while contributing to solutions that will help humans live and thrive beyond Earth,” Kavanaugh adde in the news release.

Recently, KBR and Axiom Space completed three successful crewed underwater tests of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at Johnson Space Center. The tests were part of an effort to help both companies work to support NASA's return to the Moon, according to a release.

KBR also landed at No. 3 in a list of Texas businesses on Time and Statista’s new ranking of the country’s best midsize companies.

UH receives $1M grant to advance research on rare pediatric disorder

peds research

The University of Houston has received a two-year, $1.1 million gift from the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation to advance research on a rare genetic disorder that can lead to both deafness and blindness in children, known as Usher Syndrome.

The current grant will support the research of UH biomedical engineering professors Muna Naash and Muayyad Al-Ubaidi, who work in the Laboratory for Retinal Molecular and Cellular Biology and Gene Therapy in the Cullen College of Engineering. The professors have published their findings in the journal Nature Communications.

Naash and Al-Ubaidi’s research focuses on mutations in the USH2A gene, which is crucial to the development and maintenance of the inner ear and retina. The work was inspired by a chance meeting that changed Naash’s life.

“Our work began more than two decades ago when I met a young boy who had lost his both his vision and hearing, and it made me realize just how precious those two senses are, and it truly touched my heart,” Naash said in a news release from UH. “Thanks to the generosity of the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, we can now take the next critical steps in our research and bring hope to families affected by this challenging condition.”

The grant from the foundation comes in addition to a previous $1.6 million award from the National Eye Institute in 2023, which helped create a research platform for innovative gene therapy approaches for the condition.

Usher Syndrome affects 25,000 people in the U.S. and is the most common genetic condition worldwide that impacts both hearing and vision in children. Currently, there is no cure for any of the main three types of the condition. UH believes support from the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation will help elevate research, advance real-world solutions in health and improve lives.

“What makes UH such a powerful hub for research is not just its own resources, but also its location and strategic partnerships, including those with the Texas Medical Center,” Al-Ubaidi said in a news release. “We have access to an extraordinary network, and that kind of collaborative environment is essential when tackling complex diseases like Usher syndrome, where no single lab can do it alone.”

Members-only coworking club Switchyards to open first Houston location

Where to Work

An innovative take on the coworking space is coming to Houston. Switchyards will open its first location in the Bayou City on Monday, September 29.

Located in the former Buffalo Exchange at 2901 S Shepherd Drive, Switchyards is well located on the border of Montrose, River Oaks, and Upper Kirby. Founded in Atlanta, the Houston location will join 30 outposts in cities such as Austin, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, and Nashville.

Unlike WeWork, which caters to companies looking for office space for groups of employees, Switchyards pitches itself as a club for individuals who want to get a little work done away from their home offices.

“Working from home all the time is pretty lonesome,” Switchyards creative director Brandon Hinman says. “It feels good to have places to get out and mix it up. To change paces and change scenery.”

Switchyards facilitates that change of scenery with an environment that blends touches of hotel lobbies, college libraries, and coffee shops. As seen in the photos of the company’s other location, the furniture is a mix of desks, comfy chairs, and couches for individuals or small groups. It’s a far cry from the cube farms of the Office Space era.

“They tend to be historic, textured, layered,” Hinman says about the company’s locations. “A lot of really good furniture. Really thoughtful for getting a couple hours of work done.”

Each location features fast wi-fi, plenty of electrical outlets, and good quality coffee and tea. All 250 members have 24/7 access to the space. And by choosing the real estate they lease carefully, Switchyards keeps its membership price to $100 per month.

“Packaging it together like that and opening in these neighborhoods where people actually live has been pretty magical,” Hinman says. "The big opportunity, I think, is that 90 percent of our members have never had a shared space before. It is unlocking a new thing for people.”

Those who are interested in learning more can sign up at switchyards.com/houston-tx to get early access to memberships and an invite to a sneak peek party.

Memberships go on sale Thursday, September 25 at 10 am. Switchyards notes that the last 14 clubs have sold out on day one.

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This story originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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