Why do daycares and preschools follow the school systems?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our daycare center has been open every day, only closing one hour early on Friday (5 PM) for the storm. They put workers up in a hotel across the street from the center to ensure that everyone can get to work safely. The center has a lot of parents who are doctors or otherwise work jobs that do not stop for a storm.

We had to telework, so it was nice to be able to walk our daughter there and then work from home.

So they made the daycare staff stay separately from their families for the duration of the storm? That's kind of crappy.

What do you think happens at hospitals?

And what do you suppose happens to the children of these people working at the hospitals?

It's a system and everyone needs to participate from the top down for it to work.
For doctors nurses food workers safety security sanitation food service to run the hospital they need their children taken care of.
It makes perfect sense that a daycare that serves medical providers who have to stay overnights and can't call off have staff that rise to the occasion as well

[Anonymous]

ours follows the fed govt for the most part. i don't understand why it has to close early if fairfax county public schools are closed. it makes no sense. i get the delay in the morning part, but not the closing early part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I imagine that it's quite lucrative for the daycares and preschools who don't have to pay their staff for the snow days, and other operating expenses such as meals for the children.

Director here--not lucrative at all. Our staff is paid for closings, and our food order was already in--and growing old in the fridge. Costs are largely fixed. Anyone who thinks it's a lucrative deal is clueless.

Other Director here - ditto! So don't assume that we all don't pay our staff for snow days (I even do it for my part timers who aren't salaried) and that we are just "trying to make money" off parents. I'm tired of this.

We follow DCPS, although a few years ago we followed the federal government. No matter which we do, we'll hear about it - because the year we decide to switch to the fed. gov, they'll close more than the school system! And if we change our minds and start following our own thing, then it becomes, what, I look out my window and decide? But I live in a different area than my staff and even from my parents, so why is looking out my window any better than following the superintendant who is in touch with the mayor (or county government in VA or MD), etc? The mayor of DC is not going to chat with me about what she thinks I should do to keep her roads free so they can plow!

And, yes, we cannot operate without 2 teachers in every single room. Period, end of discussion (in DC, not MD and VA). OSSE Licensing isn't going to "understand" that we had 6 babies and only 1 teacher today because we were trying to keep the school open. Or that we combined two preschool rooms and had 2 teachers but 28 children (when you're supposed to have 16 or 20 based on the age of the children) Not to mention that isn't high quality care, and you'd NEVER want that. I wouldn't want that. As one director (and with one Asst. Director) we can only be in one room at a time. And if we are in a room all day, something else doesn't happen - the phone never gets answered, payroll can't be done, orders can't be placed, etc.

Our staff have children and cannot afford to hire a backup nanny to care for their children - they don't make as much money as your average middle class working parent who populates our centers. Not that the average middle class parents are making megabucks, but they aren't making $36,000-42,000 a year.

And of course our teachers can't telework, can't just do a half day, can't just come in late if there is ice - we must be open and legally operating all hours we are open.

We are trying. But we must be safe and legal - it's not just having 'anyone near a phone' answer it like an office that is missing a receptionist for a few hours might choose to do. And, frankly, children don't do well if there are all subs in a room - and you wouldn't be happy to arrive and discover that your 12 month old was going to be with all strangers either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It must be pretty hard to motivate people to leave their children and come out in the snow storm to take care of your children for $10 per hour. Kudos to Preschool Directors who made it happen.

Except the snow storm happened almost a week ago now.

Yeah, not getting this argument. It's their job and it was open when most people's jobs open. It isn't like they had to leave Saturday morning in the middle of the whipping snow to get to work.

[Anonymous]

I cannot believe some of the responses here. Dealing by with weather related closures is just one of the many things that changes when you have a child. I assume your daycare has a parent handbook that lists when the daycare closes. You needed to sign something that hat says you read it. If you didn't like what the policy was good by to be, you should not have chosen that facility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I imagine that it's quite lucrative for the daycares and preschools who don't have to pay their staff for the snow days, and other operating expenses such as meals for the children.

Director here--not lucrative at all. Our staff is paid for closings, and our food order was already in--and growing old in the fridge. Costs are largely fixed. Anyone who thinks it's a lucrative deal is clueless.

Other Director here - ditto! So don't assume that we all don't pay our staff for snow days (I even do it for my part timers who aren't salaried) and that we are just "trying to make money" off parents. I'm tired of this.

We follow DCPS, although a few years ago we followed the federal government. No matter which we do, we'll hear about it - because the year we decide to switch to the fed. gov, they'll close more than the school system! And if we change our minds and start following our own thing, then it becomes, what, I look out my window and decide? But I live in a different area than my staff and even from my parents, so why is looking out my window any better than following the superintendant who is in touch with the mayor (or county government in VA or MD), etc? The mayor of DC is not going to chat with me about what she thinks I should do to keep her roads free so they can plow!

And, yes, we cannot operate without 2 teachers in every single room. Period, end of discussion (in DC, not MD and VA). OSSE Licensing isn't going to "understand" that we had 6 babies and only 1 teacher today because we were trying to keep the school open. Or that we combined two preschool rooms and had 2 teachers but 28 children (when you're supposed to have 16 or 20 based on the age of the children) Not to mention that isn't high quality care, and you'd NEVER want that. I wouldn't want that. As one director (and with one Asst. Director) we can only be in one room at a time. And if we are in a room all day, something else doesn't happen - the phone never gets answered, payroll can't be done, orders can't be placed, etc.

Our staff have children and cannot afford to hire a backup nanny to care for their children - they don't make as much money as your average middle class working parent who populates our centers. Not that the average middle class parents are making megabucks, but they aren't making $36,000-42,000 a year.

And of course our teachers can't telework, can't just do a half day, can't just come in late if there is ice - we must be open and legally operating all hours we are open.

We are trying. But we must be safe and legal - it's not just having 'anyone near a phone' answer it like an office that is missing a receptionist for a few hours might choose to do. And, frankly, children don't do well if there are all subs in a room - and you wouldn't be happy to arrive and discover that your 12 month old was going to be with all strangers either.

There is no excuse for our school not being open. Most of the teachers live nearby and all are posting they are getting out and about. 95% of the parents are dual working parents so ask the rest of us who can flex or volunteer to help out. I'd go in for a few hours just for my kid to go play. A day care should not close through the school system as the kids have transportation. Yes, you have to pay your teachers but many parents don't get paid if they don't work, like my husband. So, its not reasonable our kid could go to his school and instead he cannot... luckily I am not working but if I was at my old job and he took off it would be LWOP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cannot believe some of the responses here. Dealing by with weather related closures is just one of the many things that changes when you have a child. I assume your daycare has a parent handbook that lists when the daycare closes. You needed to sign something that hat says you read it. If you didn't like what the policy was good by to be, you should not have chosen that facility.

Yes, exactly. I live in DC but my preschool follows MoCo and living here a while I knew that would mean lots of snow days. Yes it's not ideal but it is what I signed up for. If I wanted coverage no matter what the weather I would've hired a nanny who lived within walking distance or gotten an aupair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because it's an easier way to make decisions than deciding themselves. Sets them up for fewer arguments with whiny parents who "can't understand."

THIS is your answer, parents and the decision to close is why no one wants the responsibility, it is the freakin' worst

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several reasons.

1) Staffing: A large percentage of preschool and daycare teachers have kids relative to other professions, and daycare salaries don't allow for things like nannies or snow day camps, so absenteeism would be high. But daycare and preschools aren't businesses that can run on a barebones staff because of legal requirements about ratios.

2) Liability: If a school opens and a teacher or parent or child is injured en route there is some liability. Of they can demonstrate that they followed an "authority" it makes a difference

3) Costs: TV and radio stations charge for announcing. Plus even if you pay to announce it is easy for your announcement to get buried. Closing with a public district is an easy way to get the word out and it is free.

This. I would also add that a school district (or OPM) has more resources for evaluating whether or not to close. An individual daycare owner basically just has the weather report and what they know about their neighborhood conditions. In a sense, they are just piggybacking on the school system's resources.

Also, in addition to having kids who aren't in school, daycare/preschool teachers may live further out, where road conditions are worse, or may depend on public transportation that isn't running normally, and may not be able to make it into work.

when I taught at a preschool that made their own call instead of going with the county- our head of school would be out driving the roads herself to make that determination.

[Anonymous]

You think it is okay to make a director go to drive the streets when they are dangerous? Why don't you drive the streets? Sheesh.

[Anonymous]

All roads are passable. Parents have to work which is why you pay for child care. Our teachers often bring in their kids to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because it's an easier way to make decisions than deciding themselves. Sets them up for fewer arguments with whiny parents who "can't understand."

THIS is your answer, parents and the decision to close is why no one wants the responsibility, it is the freakin' worst

Multiple directors have posted on this thread, giving carefully thought out explanations of all the reasons that go into their decision, and you decide it comes down to this? Are you you 3 and unable to understand that people have complex reasons for making decisions that can rarely be distilled down to "THIS", and that professionals in a field may take into account factors that you, as someone outside the field, don't completely understand?

[Anonymous]

Most of the PPs understand the need to close on days such as last Thursday through this Tuesday. Where people think it is unmerited is on days like Wednesday through Friday, when everything is back in business except for LARGE SCHOOL SYSTEMS who have to worry about plowing hundreds of lots, digging out buses, and whether roads are passable for large school buses/if bus stops are clear.

This is not the case, at all, for most daycares and preschools.

[Anonymous]

Similar to the daycare affiliated with the hospital, my child's daycare is preferred provider for a nearby university. THe daycare is usually only closed when the University closes and the University very rarely closes, so it's great! I think the do have staff who call in, but they also have fewer kids, and somehow they make it work. I really appreciate the effort they put in to staying open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of the PPs understand the need to close on days such as last Thursday through this Tuesday. Where people think it is unmerited is on days like Wednesday through Friday, when everything is back in business except for LARGE SCHOOL SYSTEMS who have to worry about plowing hundreds of lots, digging out buses, and whether roads are passable for large school buses/if bus stops are clear.

This is not the case, at all, for most daycares and preschools.

3 different directors on this thread have pointed out that daycares can not run on reduced staff the way other employers can.

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, OPM offered unscheduled leave, because they recognized that many employers would need to stay home with their kids. Why is it hard to understand that many daycare employees, who are overwhelmingly female, wouldn't have the same need? But a daycare simply can't offer unscheduled leave and stay open. It's not possible.