Peace of Mind in the Classroom: How Balanced Family Academy Covers Staff Gaps with Tandem

Balanced Family Academy of Hilliard, located in Ohio, offers high-quality early childhood education and care. Like many centers, they faced ongoing challenges ensuring consistent staffing—especially for long-term absences like maternity leaves. Since partnering with Tandem, they’ve been able to confidently fill those gaps and reduce the stress of scrambling for coverage.

Before Tandem, the center tried hiring part-time staff to fill in gaps, but this approach couldn’t always meet the center’s fluctuating needs. Long-term absences and staffing surprises made it difficult to maintain consistent coverage, leaving the team stretched and scrambling.

“We were looking to fill in for maternity leaves and staffing surprises without overburdening our team.”
– Laura Sforza, Owner

With Tandem, Balanced Family Academy gained access to a vetted network of substitute teachers. The platform made it simple to request coverage and helped them stay on top of staffing needs—especially during longer absences.

“We find the website helpful in being able to request workers and track who is coming and going.”

Since partnering with Tandem, the center has been able to confidently cover long-term absences while maintaining quality in the classroom. Workers like Jessica and Jasmine have made a lasting impression on the team.

“Jessica shows up with a smile daily! She engages and plays with the kiddos, learning their names quickly. She jumped in and helped immediately.”

“We are really enjoying our experience working with Jasmine. She is flexible, accommodating, engaging, and friendly.”

Laura shared that the peace of mind Tandem provides—especially when covering extended leaves—has been one of the biggest benefits.

“Since partnering with Tandem, we’ve been able to cover long-term absences confidently and ensure our classrooms stay staffed.”

“Our best experience with a Tandem worker has been filling a maternity leave for a very high-quality teacher, which gave us peace of mind.”

What makes Tandem work for Balanced Family Academy is its simplicity, reliability, and the quality of its people. With an easy-to-use platform and dependable coverage, the center has been able to maintain operations smoothly without overburdening internal staff.

Looking ahead, the team plans to continue using Tandem to support both planned and unexpected absences. For centers navigating similar staffing pressures, Laura has a clear recommendation: Tandem works.