Washington, D.C. -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/16/2020 --Flex Academies ONE Founder and CEO Joshua Chernikoff appeared on Fox 5 DC's Good Day program today to talk with Tisha Lewis about tips parents should look for in a virtual summer camp. You can watch the video here.
The first, and most important thing to look for, said Chernikoff, is safety.
"Parents have the right to ask any camp 'Are the instructors background-checked?' in making sure they get the right instructors to work with their kids," he said.
Chernikoff said to look for a camp that offers a chance for kids to build some skills, like learning chess or cooking. He emphasized the importance of finding a camp with "rockstar instructors," experts who understand the camera and how to use it to engage kids, since it's different from being with them in person. He talked about finding an online camp experience that is social, since so many kids have missed out on being with their friends for several months.
And finally, Chernikoff reminded parents that it's summer and "We want to make sure that kids are absolutely having fun."
Lewis asked how you make an online camp feel different from distance learning. Chernikoff talked about how parents getting excited, helps kids get excited. He acknowledged that virtual camps are not the same as in-person camps. "It's summer camp reimagined," he said. "It's not the same thing, and frankly we're still hoping that we might be able to run our in-person camps in DC – We're waiting to hear from the mayor on that."
Flex Academies ONE has theme weeks, like Pirates Week, Animals Week and Kindness Week, to get kids engaged and excited about their virtual camps. And they also offer a mix of counselor-led activities and enrichment in their Summer Camp Reimagined.
"As adults, we're experiencing Zoom 'fatigue,' but what we are seeing is 'Zoom Intrigue'," Chernikoff said. "The kids are loving to work with these instructors, they're loving being able to talk with other kids, so we've got to do a little work to re-imagine it, but it can be fun."
To learn more about Flex Academies ONE's Summer Camp Reimagined, visit their website: https://www.flexone.live
About Flex Academies and Flex Academies ONE
Flex Academies is a rapidly growing, first-in-kind, premier enrichment, before and after school care and vacation camp provider. The company aggregates, manages, and provides enrichment programming, after school care, and camps for elementary and middle school students, easing the burden on PTAs and preventing "volunteer burnout," all while making safety its Number One Priority. Flex Academies currently serves more than 80 schools in six states. Since its founding in 2011, more than 250,000 students' lives have been enriched by Flex Academies.
The company's strong brand was the foundation for the newly launched Flex Academies ONE, where the "ONE" stands for Online Enrichment. As schools have closed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Flex Academies ONE brings the same safe, social, high-quality enrichment that families have come to know and trust into their homes, courtesy of the internet. To learn more about Flex Academies ONE, visit their website at https://www.flexone.live.