High staff turnover at daycare/preschool

[Anonymous]

At our daycare, we find out ahead of time when a teacher leaves voluntarily. Sometimes teachers also leave temporarily (for maternity leave or for summer) or downgrade to part-time from full-time, especially if they are moms or students. We usually find out about those too.

The times when a teacher just "disappears," it seems to be because they were asked to leave and then the HR policy is not to tell parents anything about the reason. The parents find out because the replacement teacher is introduced.

[Anonymous]

Keep looking around at different options, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm def browsing other options, but our kid seems to be happy there and that's why I'm hesitating. I just worry that something is wrong with the administrative oversight. I should add that in October their director left abruptly so there is also an interim director since then. High turnover worries me, but it also worries me that they don't communicate it well. I come one day and see new faces, so I ask questions and find out that X person doesn't work there anymore. I want to give them a credit that it might be due to a lack of stable leadership but also how difficult it's to draft an email to all parents and inform them about staffing changes...Are other daycares/preschools better about communicating?

When a teacher leaves they let us know in advance through the app (typically to let us know they are having a party for the teacher, dress your child up in the teacher's favorite color, etc). If there is someone new, they introduce us personally to the new person.

This exactly.

OP here. OMG this sounds impressive! We've never got any of those notifications...Nobody introduced us to new teachers. I was actually introducing myself to these new teachers. Ok, it's about the time to look for a new place. Good to know how staff turnover is dealt with at other places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DS has been at this daycare/preschool since September. He originally had 3 teachers in his classroom, 2 are gone (left their jobs) and only 1 original staff member is left. I've noticed it's not only the trend in my DS's class but in other classrooms as well. Is that normal? We're new parents, so not sure if it's okay to have such a high staff turnover. We've had positive interactions with all teachers, but they just seem to be leaving and I'm not sure if it has a good impact on my DS and his social development.

This is what to expect from preschool and if anyone tells you differently here they are lying . Retention rate for preschool or daycare can be found online and it has it at 42% turnover rate per year. So if your preschool had 30 teachers, you can expect 12 to leave in a year. If your preschool has 10 you can expect 4. Also when teachers leave they never want to take responsibility for their own lack of commitment to the class and the school but blame the admin or parents because it is easier on them. Children are stronger and able to deal with such turnover better than we think. If the school has a great program overall and is secure and open to your input for the sake of your child stay. Base to decision on how you feel about the school not what someone tells you. Again my advice.

That’s not true. Some turnover is inevitable as is the case at almost every job. But, not all places have anywhere near the turnover you are describing.

Our daycare/preschool has many teachers who have been there 10+ years and some 20+. The directors have each been there a very long time. We’ve been there about 7 years and almost all of the main teachers my kids have had at various times are still there. I know they pay top of market (not sure what that is) and have good benefits and the like. That translates to it being more expensive than some other options, but the disparity wasn’t huge last time we looked.

[Anonymous]

Our daycare didn't have anywhere near that level of turnover. Some turnover is normal, and even good -- new teacher can bring new energy and new ideas. But constant churn is not. One or two teachers leaving each year isn't that much. Multiple teachers leaving more than one classroom in less than a year is a lot.

One reason that it's common is that these jobs typically pay very little. Our center had decent pay and good benefits, so turnover was pretty low, and some of it was teachers who had completed a degree and got a teaching job at the local public school or something. The quality of management also matters -- teachers want to have clear and reasonable expectations, feel like the administration is fair, and have the training and supplies they need to do a good job. If your center is full of churn, look for someplace else, because it's a sign that the teachers are underpaid and the center isn't well-run.

[Anonymous]

PPs who say that their centers have very low turnover, can you please please post names of these centers? We've been at two centers. Both have had very bad turnover, and it has been dealt with terribly by management. I'd really love to know the names of better options in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PPs who say that their centers have very low turnover, can you please please post names of these centers? We've been at two centers. Both have had very bad turnover, and it has been dealt with terribly by management. I'd really love to know the names of better options in DC.

+1000 would love to know what centers have low turnover

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half day part time preschools often have very low turnover.

The ones with the lowest turnover are often the church-affiliated ones because they are drawing from their committed/established church community, in many cases.

the last coop preschool my children attended had former teachers, former lawyers, etc who had been there for years and years-it was just a great job for a semi-SAHM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PPs who say that their centers have very low turnover, can you please please post names of these centers? We've been at two centers. Both have had very bad turnover, and it has been dealt with terribly by management. I'd really love to know the names of better options in DC.

+1000 would love to know what centers have low turnover

Kidsco Jr. But their centers are all in MD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm def browsing other options, but our kid seems to be happy there and that's why I'm hesitating. I just worry that something is wrong with the administrative oversight. I should add that in October their director left abruptly so there is also an interim director since then. High turnover worries me, but it also worries me that they don't communicate it well. I come one day and see new faces, so I ask questions and find out that X person doesn't work there anymore. I want to give them a credit that it might be due to a lack of stable leadership but also how difficult it's to draft an email to all parents and inform them about staffing changes...Are other daycares/preschools better about communicating?

That’s a lie! She didn’t leave abruptly. The school advised she was going into a different field, which was confirmed with her Facebook. She was there for months after the initial email went out advising all parents of her leaving and she stayed to train the interim director. Also the interim director has been there for years as a teacher and manager. Stop being a dramatic person. It’s not the school’s fault in this situation. Tell the truth and stop leaning the information in the negative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PPs who say that their centers have very low turnover, can you please please post names of these centers? We've been at two centers. Both have had very bad turnover, and it has been dealt with terribly by management. I'd really love to know the names of better options in DC.

+1000 would love to know what centers have low turnover

Children in the Shoe, at least there BCC location, has had low turnover in our time there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm def browsing other options, but our kid seems to be happy there and that's why I'm hesitating. I just worry that something is wrong with the administrative oversight. I should add that in October their director left abruptly so there is also an interim director since then. High turnover worries me, but it also worries me that they don't communicate it well. I come one day and see new faces, so I ask questions and find out that X person doesn't work there anymore. I want to give them a credit that it might be due to a lack of stable leadership but also how difficult it's to draft an email to all parents and inform them about staffing changes...Are other daycares/preschools better about communicating?

That’s a lie! She didn’t leave abruptly. The school advised she was going into a different field, which was confirmed with her Facebook. She was there for months after the initial email went out advising all parents of her leaving and she stayed to train the interim director. Also the interim director has been there for years as a teacher and manager. Stop being a dramatic person. It’s not the school’s fault in this situation. Tell the truth and stop leaning the information in the negative.

Did OP even name her center? If not, how could you know if this was a lie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm def browsing other options, but our kid seems to be happy there and that's why I'm hesitating. I just worry that something is wrong with the administrative oversight. I should add that in October their director left abruptly so there is also an interim director since then. High turnover worries me, but it also worries me that they don't communicate it well. I come one day and see new faces, so I ask questions and find out that X person doesn't work there anymore. I want to give them a credit that it might be due to a lack of stable leadership but also how difficult it's to draft an email to all parents and inform them about staffing changes...Are other daycares/preschools better about communicating?

That’s a lie! She didn’t leave abruptly. The school advised she was going into a different field, which was confirmed with her Facebook. She was there for months after the initial email went out advising all parents of her leaving and she stayed to train the interim director. Also the interim director has been there for years as a teacher and manager. Stop being a dramatic person. It’s not the school’s fault in this situation. Tell the truth and stop leaning the information in the negative.

Did OP even name her center? If not, how could you know if this was a lie.

OP here. Yeah, this person who accuses me of being dishonest doesn’t seem to know my center. Our situation was completely different. Director acknowledged in her resignation email that she was leaving abruptly and this was not previously communicated. Guess our center isn’t the only one with this problem but please don’t call me a liar or dramatic person in the future. Thanks ?

[Anonymous]

I think it’s a good idea to investigate other places but since your child is happy and thriving, maybe hold off? How old is your child? I would be more concerned that they have strong rooms the older your child gets, so he or she is well prepared for kindergarten. If it’s a daycare that doesn’t transition the older rooms to preschool curriculums, I would recommend moving to a preschool or a daycare with a preschool curriculum for the older kids (3-5).

[Anonymous]

Some amount of turnover happens and is to be expected. These are low paying jobs and life happens and some people aren’t great employees. I’m going to say in the range of 10-15% during the school year. Or maybe 1-3 people on a 20 person staff and maybe 5-7 people on a 50 person staff.

Then, there is some amount of turnover that suggests problems of some sort. Before I’d switch daycares, I’d also look at how the center is handling it.