Preschools and daycares are never going back to pre-COVID hours, right?

[Anonymous]

We've experienced a few different daycares in DC over the past 4.5 years.

Our current daycare was 7am to 6pm pre-COVID. Now? It's only 8am to 530pm and prices have gone up by about 25% ($1850 -> $2250 for infant care).

What is happening for folks who have to work weird shifts or early hours? Are they just screwed?

[Anonymous]

Ours also has covid hours and it sucks. We are switching to a center with longer hours because yes it appears that they are never going back.

[Anonymous]

They think you'll have a short memory and new people coming in won't know that the hours used to be longer. Welcome to the underpaid childcare world.

[Anonymous]

They cannot get enough staff due to the low pay.

[Anonymous]

Ours is back to normal hours.

[Anonymous]

Ours is normal hours but they are closed all the time for staff training or development. This year alone they are closed 30 days. It’s insane. They say it’s for training but I think it’s a recruitment/ retention tool for teachers.

[Anonymous]

We're not able to go back because of staffing issues. In spite of DC's ECE Equity Fund, where child care teachers with a Bachelor's degree will be making 75,000 per year, we can't find anyone to hire. We are stretching as much as we can and combining children in the mornings/evenings, but staff can only work so many hours a day and we have to follow licensing ratios.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're not able to go back because of staffing issues. In spite of DC's ECE Equity Fund, where child care teachers with a Bachelor's degree will be making 75,000 per year, we can't find anyone to hire. We are stretching as much as we can and combining children in the mornings/evenings, but staff can only work so many hours a day and we have to follow licensing ratios.

I think this is it. It means that RTO is a terrible idea, but the men in charge will push it anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They cannot get enough staff due to the low pay.

Why is the pay so low when the rates are so high? Is the insurance insane? The ratios too low?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're not able to go back because of staffing issues. In spite of DC's ECE Equity Fund, where child care teachers with a Bachelor's degree will be making 75,000 per year, we can't find anyone to hire. We are stretching as much as we can and combining children in the mornings/evenings, but staff can only work so many hours a day and we have to follow licensing ratios.

I think this is it. It means that RTO is a terrible idea, but the men in charge will push it anyway.

+1. For many families at our daycare, it only works because there is always one parent WFH.

There's other stuff our daycare used to provide, like a hot lunch, that went away during the pandemic and I don't think they ever intend to bring back. Our director always plays dumb when someone brings it up, like oh I forgot we ever did that, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They cannot get enough staff due to the low pay.

Why is the pay so low when the rates are so high? Is the insurance insane? The ratios too low?

Yes, absurdly higher than ever before.

[Anonymous]

Definitely not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They cannot get enough staff due to the low pay.

Why is the pay so low when the rates are so high? Is the insurance insane? The ratios too low?

Because stupid parents think that preschools can survivor with low ratios, high pay and benefits for teachers, and lower tuition.

[Anonymous]

Children in the Shoe has been back to pre-covid hours (7:30-6:30) for a while and the normal pre-covid number of holidays (closed about a dozen weekdays a year, including federal holidays).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They cannot get enough staff due to the low pay.

Why is the pay so low when the rates are so high? Is the insurance insane? The ratios too low?

Because stupid parents think that preschools can survivor with low ratios, high pay and benefits for teachers, and lower tuition.

It’s a broken system, that “stupid parents” did not design. Many teachers who work at these daycares are parents themselves and cannot afford to send their own kids there.