From the filings
Lightbridge Academy operates 92 total locations — 68 franchised and 24 company-owned — with a $2,640,681 average unit volume under its 2026 FDD. Item 2 names Gigi Schweikert as CEO and Joanne Sofia, CFE, as COO, and Item 8 designates suppliers only for specific private-label items.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ongoing fee load
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
10%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 2 explicit no's; 7 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We may have independent access to the information and data contained in your Computer System, which includes your Parent View®/Watch Me Grow Classroom Monitoring System and other Lightbridge standard technology solutions.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
(ii) unaudited annual financial reports and operating statements in the form specified by Franchisor, prepared by a certified public accountant or state licensed public accountant, within 60 days 14 © Lightbridge Academy Franchise Agreement 2026 after the close of each fiscal year of Franchisee;
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We may designate our self or our affiliate as an approved vendor for certain items, and in some instances, as the only approved vendor.
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 20
We created the Lightbridge Franchise Advisory Committee in August 2016.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor may, from time to time, change the standards and specifications applicable to operation of the Franchise, including standards and specifications for inventory, products, supplies, signs, fixtures, furnishings, technology and equipment, by written notice to Franchisee or through changes in the Confidential…
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
In our last fiscal year, neither we nor any of our affiliates generated revenue from the sale of goods or services to franchisees.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We may negotiate rebate arrangements with some of our suppliers. In our last fiscal year, we received $ 179,849 from rebates, of goods or services to franchisees, which was approximately 0. 9% of our overall revenues.
Item 8 gives this proportion in one of two shapes: separate percentages for establishing the business and for operating it, or one figure covering "establishing and operating" together. Where they are separate, answer with the operating percentage; where the passage gives only the combined figure, answer with that. What percentage of the franchisee's purchases must come from designated or approved suppliers?
80Item 8
We estimate that 90% of your purchases and leases in establishing your Lightbridge Academy Center and approximately 80% of your total purchases and leases in operating the Lightbridge Academy Center will be from suppliers that we designate.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
You must reimburse us for our reasonable cost of evaluating and/or testing the proposed supplier or item, regardless of whether we approve the item or supplier.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you desire to purchase any item for which approval is required, from a supplier not on our approved supplier list, you must request approval of the item or supplier in writing and we will evaluate the supplier and/or item for approval.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
your business telephone numbers to us termination/nonrenewal or our designee, surrender all stationery, printed matter, signs, advertising materials and other items containing the Proprietary Marks and all items which are part of the System trade dress, sell to us any furnishings, equipment, seating, tables, desks…
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
We may, in our discretion, provide inspections and written evaluations of your Center’s operations at the times we determine and advise you of any concerns we identify.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 14
We may revise the contents of the Confidential Operations Manual and you must comply with each new or changed standard, at your own expense.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
Within the 180-day period, Franchisee must find a suitable site meeting Franchisor’s specifications, submit a request for approval, deliver all information and copies of proposed agreements, receive Franchisor’s approval, and then either enter into a lease or sublease for the site meeting Franchisor’s requirements…
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 11
Except as we approve in advance in writing, you may not establish or maintain a separate Website, or otherwise maintain an online or social media presence or advertise on the Internet or any other public computer network in connection with your Lightbridge Academy Center , or establish any url containing the…
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 11
Grand opening advertising and marketing expenses should be included in the first quarter operating budget and will be a minimum of $5,000 to be spent on digital advertising, direct mail, other advertising or local advertising.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 11
you must spend each quarter during the term of this Agreement, a minimum of $6,000 on local advertising
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If we establish an advertising cooperative within a geographically defined local or regional marketing area in which your Center is located, you must participate and abide by any rules and procedures the cooperative adopts and we approve.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall purchase only products and services, including Lightbridge Academy branded products, inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, equipment, signs, software and logo-imprinted products, which Franchisor approves, including purchasing from approved suppliers or a designated sole supplier for any items.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall purchase only products and services, including Lightbridge Academy branded products, inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, equipment, signs, software and logo-imprinted products, which Franchisor approves, including purchasing from approved suppliers or a designated sole supplier for any items.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall furnish the bank with authorizations necessary to permit Franchisor to make withdrawals from the Account by electronic funds transfer.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must hire a full time Center Director to be responsible for the direct on premises supervision of the Center at all times during the hours of operation.
Point of sale
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We may have independent access to the information and data contained in your Computer System, which includes your Parent View®/Watch Me Grow Classroom Monitoring System and other Lightbridge standard technology solutions.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right to offer refresher courses and supplemental training programs, which may be optional or mandatory, from time to time, to Franchisee, its equity owners if Franchisee is a business entity, its Director and/or its other employees.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 11
Attendance at the conference by you and/or certain of your personnel is mandatory.
Lightbridge Academy runs 92 total locations — 68 franchised and 24 company-owned — under its 2026 FDD, with an average unit volume of $2,640,681 and a 7% royalty on a fifteen-year initial term. Unit count grew about 9.7% year over year, a steady expansion pace in the child-care and education segment.
Item 2 names Gigi Schweikert as Chief Executive Officer, Joanne Sofia, CFE, as Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Pleiss as Vice President of Operations, Helena Beaubrun as Chief Financial Officer, and Brenda J. Febbo, CFE, as Chief Marketing Officer. Of the operators mapped to this system, five run more than one location while the remaining 48 run a single unit — a mostly single-unit base with a modest multi-unit tail, worth pitching at both the corporate level and among the larger operators.
Item 11 of the FDD sets out Lightbridge Academy's technology and training requirements. Review it alongside Item 8 before pitching operational or classroom-management software — the embedded filing below carries the specifics.
Item 8 designates suppliers only for certain items: private-label items developed by the franchisor or an affiliate must be purchased from the franchisor or that affiliate, and the franchisor maintains an approved supplier list in the Operations Manual for other designated items, all of which must meet franchisor specifications and quality standards. Franchisees may propose an alternate supplier for approval. Item 17 gives franchisees two additional five-year renewal periods after the initial fifteen-year term, conditioned on timely notice, a securable lease for the additional term, completed refurbishing, resolved compliance issues, a signed then-current agreement, training and a renewal fee.
The FDD was filed with state franchise regulators in 2026. The embedded PDF viewer below carries the full filing — Item 2 for officers, Item 8 for procurement, Item 11 for technology, and Item 17 for renewal terms. Talk to FranCloud for a ranked list of education franchise systems at this scale.
Questions vendors ask
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment Lightbridge Academy files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
53 operators run 59 mapped locations. 5 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Ownership
single_brand_holdco of Lightbridge Academy.
Related Education brands
Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.