Good Neighbor Podcast: Frisco

EP 391: How Child Care Can Break The Cycle Of Poverty

• Sophia Yvette

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What makes Jessica Gray with The Homework House of McKinney a good neighbor?

Jessica believes child care should function as community infrastructure—not a private scramble families face alone. In this episode, we sit down with the founder of The Homework House of McKinney to explore a modern village model designed to lift low-income families, support parents with nontraditional schedules, and strengthen children through early development and social-emotional learning.

Jessica shares how growing up as the eldest of eight shaped her mission to close opportunity gaps for families born into poverty. She explains why child care providers are not babysitters but frontline educators—often the first to identify speech and developmental delays, cultivate school readiness, and stabilize entire neighborhoods. We dig into the practical design choices that make access real: open Monday through Sunday, extended hours, and a single flat rate that reflects the realities of single parents, healthcare workers, and others working long shifts. Along the way, she highlights tangible outcomes—parents advancing from student to LPN, BSN, and nurse practitioner because reliable care existed when it mattered most.

The conversation widens to long-term impact and policy. Jessica makes the case that when social challenges go untreated, they become economic risks—and that early childhood education is one of the most powerful tools for breaking generational poverty. She outlines a bold vision to reform support systems by pairing compassion with accountability, protecting children while helping parents gain real traction. Created to fill the gaps where traditional systems fail, The Homework House centers structured learning, parent engagement, and wrap-around support to help families build stronger foundations. Her mission is clear: build strong children, support parents, and restore the village families need to thrive.

If you care about early childhood education, workforce readiness, and solutions that work for real families, this conversation will stay with you.

To learn more about The Homework House of McKinney go to:
https://homeworkhouseofmckinneytexas.com/

Homework House of McKinney, TX
+1 (469) 400-4500

SPEAKER_00:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a child care company? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Jessica Gray, with the Homework House of McKinney, Texas. Jessica, how are you today? I'm fine and you? I am doing great. Now we are excited to learn all about you and your business. Can you please start off by telling our listeners just a little bit about your company?

SPEAKER_02:

So the homework house of McKinney, Texas is not your traditional daycare. We take a modern day approach to child care. And what's a modern day approach to childcare? There's no system protecting children born into poverty. So we serve as a modern day village to low-income families. Last year alone, we have helped three families become nurses, LPN, BSN, and nurse practitioner by serving as a modern day village to those families.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow, what a sweet movement you have going on. And how did you originally get into a business like this?

SPEAKER_02:

I got into the business because I was born into the gap. I was born into poverty, the eldest of eight, and I saw the need that needed to be met. And so serving as a modern day village, nobody wants to be on welfare for 20 years. But when you have single moms and single dads working, they can't afford extended care. And so that's where that modern-day village comes in. We don't charge them, it's a free service, but we do have a timeline and we hold them accountable.

SPEAKER_01:

100%. Now, with this movement you have going on in modern day village, what is the most common myth or misconception you come across in your industry?

SPEAKER_02:

Childcare, daycare are babysitters, and we're not. We are the foundation to an early start. We are the backbone of this country. We're the ones that catch speech delay, developmental delay. We focus on social and emotional. We are the backbones of this country. So we're not just babysitters.

SPEAKER_01:

And why at this stage is it so important to have that backbone?

SPEAKER_02:

Because right now you see that the great society that former President Lyndon Johnson created, um, the system, the welfare system, was to help people that was in poverty that and it has entrapped them. Now you have a system where they're normalized the dysfunction of passing down generational poverty.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow. And for the children, why is this backbone so important to have?

SPEAKER_02:

It's so important because if we don't realize that this social issue will become an economic issue and we won't be a great country. And so we have to we have to make sure that we're setting these kids up. This is our future. And so we want to have them to have a great early start, and you have to start with the foundation, which is early child care.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, we know marketing is the heart of every business. So who are your target customers, clients, or audience? And in terms of your online footprint, how do you attract them today?

SPEAKER_02:

Um, we have a website, social media, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, LinkedIn. And so that's how we try to target our customers. And a lot of my customers are single moms, nurses who work 12-hour shifts. We're open Monday through Sunday. We offer unique hours, Saturdays and Sundays, 6 30 a.m. to 7 30 p.m. at one flat rate. We don't charge by the hour.

SPEAKER_01:

And have you ever thought about having your own podcast to extend the mission of your village?

SPEAKER_02:

I did at one point, but it's a lot when you're doing the type of service that I'm doing. I did think about a podcast years ago, but it's it's it's so many layers to early child care, and we're like the underdogs that just nobody, I don't know. They call us glorified babysitters, but we're more than that. We get the kids off to an early great start.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, hey, if it's a dream and you have the determination, you can always make it happen no matter what anyone else says. That's true. Now, outside of work, what do you and your family like to do for fun?

SPEAKER_02:

Do for fun, you know what? This is a this is the love of labor. And so me and my son, we're always doing something that has something to do with the homework house. If we are keeping kids on Saturdays because a parent is studying for clinical, I mean a parent has to study for a test. It's it's pretty much the homework house. It's a home away from home.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, where did the name the homework house come from?

SPEAKER_02:

Um, I don't know, it just came to me. I've been in this industry for 18 years. Um, I had two facilities in Chicago, and they were named Sweet P and GZN, but the homeworkhouse is just gives me community and village. And I think that a lot of people don't realize how important a home is. And I think we've gotten so far away from that, and that is the backbone and the foundation of building a good neighborhood. And if you build a good neighborhood, you have a good community. And if you have a good community, you have a good city. If you have a good city, you have a good state, and that's how you build a better world.

SPEAKER_01:

And Jessica, what further expansion do you see in the future of your business in the years to come?

SPEAKER_02:

So the goal for me, which is a big goal, is to hope that one day I can reform the welfare system through the power of child care by having timelines and accountability so nobody is on welfare for 20 years and there's no system protecting children born into poverty. And so hopefully one day I will be able to spread the message and I will be able to help reform the welfare system through the power of child care.

SPEAKER_01:

Final question for you today, Jessica. What our listeners really want to know is where can they go to learn more about the homework house of McKinney, Texas?

SPEAKER_02:

You can go online, you can look us up, the Homework House of McKinney, Texas. That'll take you to the website, our social media pages.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, Jessica, I really appreciate you being on the show today. We wish you and your business the best moving forward. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02:

I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfrisco.com. That's gmpfrisco.com or call four six nine two two two two two two two two two two two two one nine three four five.