New problem at WOW (White Oak Wonders)

[Anonymous]

Management at WOW (FDA's daycare) has apparently adopted a new policy to the detriment of teacher morale/retention and quality of care. I gather they have teachers working on an "as needed" basis. If children are home sick, otherwise out, or in late/out early, management either (1) calls teachers to tell them not to come in (without pay), or (2) dismisses teachers early (again, without pay). This schedule can be incredibly stressful for teachers, not knowing whether they'll be working the next day and, if so, for how long and what they'll earn. I've already heard some teachers muttering about leaving because of the uncertainty in hours and pay.

The quality of care suffers, too. If a child arrives unexpectedly late one day, he may be routed to a different room because his primary was sent home -- or a "floater" will come in to assume the primary's role. This discontinuity of care is disruptive for the children and may lead to mistakes (e.g., at least one child has gotten the wrong bottle during substitute coverage).

After all the problems WOW had in the opening months with instability and lack of continuity in care, I'm surprised management would adopt a policy that exacerbates these very problems. I'm hugely disappointed. I am considering withdrawing my child unless the staffing policies improve.

[Anonymous]

This is a gommon practice of large daycares. BH does the same thing. It does suck for the teachers but it is policy and the day cares are in it for the money.

[Anonymous]

sorry, "common"

[Anonymous]

Very common at Franchise Daycares.
Always you get what you pay for .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a gommon practice of large daycares. BH does the same thing. It does suck for the teachers but it is policy and the day cares are in it for the money.

Disagree with this. We were at a BH for two years. Our center tended toward understaffing, not over. There was always a use for teachers if numbers were low on a particular day. Never saw people get sent home early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a gommon practice of large daycares. BH does the same thing. It does suck for the teachers but it is policy and the day cares are in it for the money.

Disagree with this. We were at a BH for two years. Our center tended toward understaffing, not over. There was always a use for teachers if numbers were low on a particular day. Never saw people get sent home early.

Sorry, but you are speaking as a parent and you are not there all day, being able to know where teachers are at, what time they get there and when they leave. With that being said, I am a teacher at a bright horizons center and bright horizons do let teachers go home early or call and tell them that they are not needed for the day. Teachers are able to use their vacation time if they have any. With childcare having high turnover rates, and enrollment always being full (wait list), the odds of letting teachers go early or not coming in, is not often. This usually happens during holidays, when most children are away on vacations. Trust me, teachers then would love to leave early or not come in. For the teachers at wow being upset, they must be new to working in a large childcare center, as this is very common.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the original poster--I am a WOW parent and CCLC's staffing policy is really upsetting. We have wonderful teachers, and I hate that CCLC treats them this way. It's not good for teacher morale/retention, and it's not good for the kids. If CCLC is serious about building the Center's reputation (which it will need to do to reach full enrollment), it should drop this policy.

[Anonymous]

It's been open for 5 months, is located on a government campus, and hasn't reached full enrollment yet?

[Anonymous]

The original post is 100% correct that this policy should be eliminated. I bet this policy was instituted because the center is trying to recover lost revenue due to their own failures to procure a full state license for the first four months of operation. It is not the staff's fault that the management failed to procure a full license, and the company as a whole should absorb the losses for their blunder. I think it is deplorable to now punish the WOW staff by cutting their hours and reducing their pay. And the management should not be so delusional as to assume that the staff are okay with the policy. I am a WOW parent and I can assure you that the staff are unhappy about the uncertainty in their daily income. Wouldn't you be? Even if this type of policy is industry practice, I still think that it should NOT be implemented until the center is operating near capacity so that staff are sent home infrequently. Now, I get the impression that staff are getting sent home daily, and implementation of the policy is truly ruining staff morale, upsetting parents, and disrupting the continuity of care that is so important to our children.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand why the daycares would need to send staff home because children were not present - to the parents not pay the center for days their children are sick or on vacation? I've never heard of a center that charges less when children are not present due to illness or vacation.

[Anonymous]

i'm so glad i left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why the daycares would need to send staff home because children were not present - to the parents not pay the center for days their children are sick or on vacation? I've never heard of a center that charges less when children are not present due to illness or vacation.

I agree with this. This policy is terrible. After the multiple errors made when the center first opened, CCLC should be glad that parents are willing to give them a second chance. Hopefully, they will stop this immediately.

[Anonymous]

I was considering WOW, and now I have serious reservations. Thank you, OP, for posting this.

[Anonymous]

When the center opened, parents complained about a lack of continuity of care, especially for the babies. Parents also said the curriculum, as it was implemented, did not seem to challenge their children.

Overall has there been progress on these issues? Thanks very much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When the center opened, parents complained about a lack of continuity of care, especially for the babies. Parents also said the curriculum, as it was implemented, did not seem to challenge their children.

Overall has there been progress on these issues? Thanks very much.

I have two kids at WOW, one in an infant class, and one in a toddler class. We couldn't be happier. Things turned a corner, and I really feel good about having my kids there now. I was one of the parents who was wavering initially, thinking about taking my older child out when they were having all the problems. As I said, I have my younger there now, too, so obviously I think that things got better.

For my baby, there is always at least one of their primary caregivers present. I haven't had any issues with lack of continuity (I can't speak to the time before my child started).

About the curriculum: if anything, it's too challenging! lol... My 2 year old does SO many activities, art works, working through themes on the earth, insects etc, and also learning of numbers and letters. I was a bit taken aback when I was asked to practice recognition of numbers at home with my DC! Still, it is done in a fun way. I really love the curriculum so far, at least for my older child's age group.

To the OP: have you brought this issue up with the Director? I'm not sure if you're really a disgruntled teacher, perhaps? If you're a parent, I don't know why you'd post here instead of talking to the people in charge. Both the Director and Vice have both been very receptive whenever I talk to them.