Meet Bridgeway Preparatory Academy

Bridgeway Preparatory Academy is a tuition-free public charter school located near Dallas, TX that opened its doors in August, 2018. The school has an 8:1 student-teacher ratio that allows the educators to create personalized learning plans for each and every student. 

They strive to help students reach their full potential in and out of the classroom by focusing on academics, social-emotional learning, and well-being.

For Bridgeway Prep, it’s all about smart staffing and enriching student lives. As their first year progressed, the school noted that they wanted to provide full-time teachers with more planning time while ensuring student learning continued even when teachers were absent.

Finding a solution with Swing 

Bridgeway Prep determined that its full-time educators and students would benefit from a quality resource for substitute teachers. 

Enter Swing Education, which connects a wide range of Texas schools with qualified

substitute teachers. “Having that additional support from Swing within the classroom allowed us to provide our students the support they needed,” says Dr. Brandy Dede, Bridgeway’s Assistant Superintendent.

“Swing Education staff really came in handy in particular on Fridays — when Swing stepped in, our full-time teachers had four full hours every Friday so they could properly plan for each child.”

The benefits of having the capacity to grow

In the 2019-2020 school year, Bridgeway Prep increased fill-rate to 98% through Swing, tripled its enrollment, and hired a number of new teachers to support that expansion. “We’re really excited about that growth; there’s just so much in store for our families,” Dede says. “The positive feedback that we’ve received from our current families really makes me excited for the future.” 

And Swing Education will be there every step of the way to support Bridgeway’s staff and students with quality substitute teacher coverage. “We appreciate Swing being there when we had a critical need, and we’re looking forward to continuing the relationship,” Dede says.

To learn more about Bridgeway Prep’s experience with onboarding and working with Swing, read their case study on how they partnered with us to create a winning professional development program. 

And if your district is looking for an innovative approach to finding subs, addressing teacher absences, and keeping learning on track, you can learn more about how we work with districts here.