March 13, 2020

The Empow Studios team is working hard to respond to the COVID-19 responsibly, intelligently, and productively. Many of us are parents ourselves, and all of us are invested in the well-being and future of the children we work with. Our response is guided by the desire to contribute our unique skills and assets to the struggle that parents and schools are facing. Please check this blog for news and updates.March 13, 2020, 12:40pm.
To: All current Empow Studios customers

Dear Empow Families,

Your child is currently in a STEM program with Empow Studios. We’re all watching the COVID-19 environment change quickly and unpredictably. Many schools in Massachusetts have already announced closures which may last weeks or months. As parents of young children ourselves, we are, like you, grappling with the childcare challenges of school closures, and wondering how we can best keep our kids safe, engaged, and learning over the weeks and months ahead.

Starting immediately (Friday, 3/13), we will be temporarily suspending all in-person programs for a week and likely until schools reopen. Beginning on Monday 3/16, we will be transferring all existing students to virtual programs. 

As you may know, much of what your kids learn at Empow comes from working in our learning portal named Talent Box which provides interactive online STEM lessons and projects. Many children already access these learning materials to continue working on their Empow projects from home. Like we do in person, we will supplement these online resources with live teachers via video and other distance learning technology. This will allow us to continue offering interactive and engaging learning experiences to your kids while they are at home. Through these virtual programs, your kids will continue to learn coding, robotics, film & animation, Minecraft, engineering and more — essentially the same range of learning opportunities available now in person. Next week, your children will be able to access these live sessions on the same days, and during the same hours, when they currently meet with us in person. Shortly thereafter we will ramp up more hours and program options.

Look for additional details particularly around logistics and technology shortly. Please be patient with us as during this transition. We look to you in our community to help us improve the process along the way. 

In addition, we will be holding webinars next week to answer your questions, get your thoughts about how we can best serve you and your children at this challenging time, and provide additional learning and STEM resources. Please register for these webinars on either:

Wednesday March 18th, 7pm OR Friday March 20, 9am

We will be recording the webinars and making them available to all who can’t attend live.  If you have additional questions, please let us know. 

Be safe, 
Leonid Tunik, Founder 
Nancy Lee, Director of Program Operations
Michelle Meyer, Program Director ASC
Karen Lewis, HR Director and Administrative
James Shepard, CEO