Veena Kashyap and Chaitra Giridhara teach learning through play

When you walk in Learning Cube Academyvivid colors catch your eye. Surrounded by children's drawings and class photos, the atmosphere is comforting and ideal for learning.

Learning Cube Academy (LCA) is a private preschool run by Veena Kashyap and Chaitra Giridhara.

Both have considerable teaching experience.

The lesson takes place in Giridhara's family. Her father was a professor of English at the University of Mysore in India, and her mother founded a school in his name. Giridhara volunteered at school before attending university and eventually worked in a bank. After moving to the United States, Giridhara returned to teaching, starting as a volunteer and later becoming a substitute teacher for about seven years.

With around 35 years of teaching experience, Kashyap started teaching English and Mathematics while in university. After working in customer service, Kashyap returned to teaching and taught students of all ages, from preschool to high school. Kashyap had previous experience in owning academic institutes, including a preschool in India and a learning center.

“I was very clear, I wanted to do something,” says Kashyap. “But this time I wanted to do it with a partner, otherwise I wouldn't even be doing it. So because I had explored and always wanted to do something, I was always looking for an opportunity.”

Kashyap approached Giridhara with the idea of ​​opening a preschool together. With the encouragement of their families, they decided to do it. After purchasing a site in March 2019, the school underwent approximately eight months of renovations. Finally, LCA opened its doors in January 2020.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Kashyap and Giridhara had to scrap their plan and start fresh. They moved their students online and recorded videos to teach students remotely. They were able to teach students from all over the world, from India to Amsterdam. As the pandemic continued, they were able to bring enrichment, math, English and even art into their curriculum.

LCA finished the 2023-24 school year with 56 students and had 46 at this year's summer camp. They will begin the 2024-2025 academic year with 25 students, which may increase as enrollment is year-round.

LCA kept the curriculum they developed during their early years online, delivering everything in person. LCA assesses suitability and works with each child's unique requirements. They do not operate as a strict structure, rather they use best practices, philosophies and methodologies to teach their students.

“A lot of things are being learned through play,” says Giridhara. “We have manipulators for everything and we have enough opportunities for them to learn. Some children may be visual learners, some children may be purely auditory. We train teachers in such a way that teachers understand in the first week or two how the child learns, because not every child is the same. The teachers are very kind. Once (teachers) build trust through love and care, children feel very comfortable because they know they are safe here and they are happy.”

“Our core values ​​are the three R's: respect, responsibility and relationship,” says Kashyap. “We respect each other regardless of their age and treat them as individuals, not based on their age. We are responsible for what we learn and we are responsible for what (students) are doing. We learn that it's okay to make a mistake and learn from it. Then, we value relationships; that community with individuals, with teachers. This is something that is our core value. We really value that and that's how we differentiate.”

Both Kashyap and Giridhara learned more than just how to educate themselves through LCA: they learned people management and applied it to their daily lives. But most importantly, they were able to participate in the beginning of the children's learning journey, having a huge impact on their growth,

“Being a part of (the students') lives and (seeing) how they transformed from the beginning of the year to the end was amazing to me,” says Giridhara. “They grow a lot emotionally and learn a lot. They are like two or three years old, but the way they transform is completely different, which made me stay in the field and not deviate. I think that's why I never went back to any other job.”

Learning Cube Academy is located at 3425 Ashington Lane.