I’m not even a parent yet my social media timeline is clogged with working parents concerned with exactly what is happening for the 2020-21 academic year. COVID-19 is a real bitch, and school districts are struggling to balance the safety and educational goals of students, while frequently under economic threats from state governments that don’t want to admit the reality of a pandemic. It’s basically a mess, and parents are going to be pressed trying to juggle it all. And it’ll be even worse if the parents also have to balance a full-time job on top of it all.
At least one Biglaw firm sees the buzzsaw its employees with children are heading towards, and they want to do something about it. At Fenwick & West, they’re offering a series of new programs to support their employees as they try to tackle this impossible semester:
· Tutoring or Back-Up Care Stipend: Fenwick is providing up to $500 as a reimbursement stipend to Fenwick employees who are parents or legal guardians of children under the age of 18, to help defray some of the costs for tutoring or learning support or back-up childcare.
· Tutoring, Online Resources, Learning Pods: Partnering with Bright Horizons, parents who have enrolled will get a 20% discount on tutoring, schoolwork help and learning pods from the care provider’s partner vendors.
· Parent Support Workshops: They’re offering a Parent Support Workshop with a well-being coach and consultant to help parents create work-from-home health and well-being plans.
· Loaner laptops for students: While many school districts are providing students with technology tools for online learning, we can help bridge shortages for those families in financial need if our employees’ child’s district isn’t providing a needed technology resource.
· Parents Network: They’ve launched an internal Parents at Fenwick group, as an online forum for sharing resources and ideas and for connecting and providing peer support.
So, what are other Biglaw firms doing to support their working parents? We’d love to hear from you. Please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).