Daycare violating child to teacher ratio

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This happened a couple of times at my daycare. Some of the teachers didn't come in until 9, but they were flexible about the kids' arrival so if everyone happened to be on the earlier side one day the ratios would be off. I said something to the Director and she got on top of it, and now it isn't a problem anymore.

The combining of kids at the end of the day is pretty normal IF they have enough teachers to maintain the ratio. My daycare does that as well. But again, they maintain the ratios

Same at my daycare. I have no issue combining rooms but I would be worried if the ratios were anywhere near as bad as OP reports.

OP says 9 kids with 2 teachers. That's normal because most kids are after 2 years old.

Or just don't send your kid to a Center. They maintain schedules.
If a teacher/staff comes early to work then they leave early 7:30am- 4pm for example.

If you want the Director to have more staff then they will raise the child's weekly tuition, deposit and parents needs to pay because it will be in the contract. I try to come early like 5 or 5:30pm.

Some centers have schedules like parents-director agree to drop off time and pick up time so the center have the appropriate staff. Not every staff will be at the center at 7am

[Anonymous]

Well that's Virginia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they paid better the assistants from centers. The government should fund more Education and Healthcare and social programs

they are paid plenty given an insane tuition rates

please elaborate on what "paid plenty" is? The higher the tuition doesn't necessarily mean better pay. The insurance on daycares is extremely high and that's what most of the money goes towards.

It's all for the director and daycare stuff.
They don't raise the teacher's or even worse the assistants salaries.
No wonder many Teachers have to find a second job you As$hole.

[Anonymous]

That's why you treat them nice and give nice gift, money for teachers abd the Assistants too, they all work hard to care of the children and take classes to grow as a professional

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never happened at our daycare in the 2 years I was there. Staff were not dismissed in the evening unless ratios were met. The Director or Asst. Dir. would constantly go room to room in the evening and headcount and then motion that Ms. x could leave.

The ratios and age separation exist for a reason.

I am this pp. Our center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). No idea if it's a requirement or simply a best practice, but our center did not violate ratio requirements and did not mix kids of various ages in various rooms at the end of the day. If that works for others, great. Not us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they paid better the assistants from centers. The government should fund more Education and Healthcare and social programs

they are paid plenty given an insane tuition rates

It's all for the director and daycare stuff.
They don't raise the teacher's or even worse the assistants salaries.
No wonder many Teachers have to find a second job you heartless as$hole. I feel bad for your kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This happened a couple of times at my daycare. Some of the teachers didn't come in until 9, but they were flexible about the kids' arrival so if everyone happened to be on the earlier side one day the ratios would be off. I said something to the Director and she got on top of it, and now it isn't a problem anymore.

The combining of kids at the end of the day is pretty normal IF they have enough teachers to maintain the ratio. My daycare does that as well. But again, they maintain the ratios

Same at my daycare. I have no issue combining rooms but I would be worried if the ratios were anywhere near as bad as OP reports.

OP says 9 kids with 2 teachers. That's normal because most kids are after 2 years old.

Or just don't send your kid to a Center. They maintain schedules.
If a teacher/staff comes early to work then they leave early 7:30am- 4pm for example.

If you want the Director to have more staff then they will raise the child's weekly tuition, deposit and parents needs to pay because it will be in the contract. I try to come early like 5 or 5:30pm.

Some centers have schedules like parents-director agree to drop off time and pick up time so the center have the appropriate staff. Not every staff will be at the center at 7am

OP said: "all kids whose parents have not picked them up yet (12-36 and up sometimes) in one room My husband count 12 kids of various ages and only 2 teachers present." That is the egregious ratio violation that would concern me. My daycare doesn't *have* 36 kids of all ages so that's not a concern. The last time they combined classes, there were 6 kids 0-4 waiting to be picked up, and four staff members looking after them. I maintain that there's no issue combining classes if ratios are maintained and my daycare has no problems doing this. Whether OP feels her kids are being safely cared for vs whether she can pay more is her risk assessment to make, but I'm just telling her that my daycare (also in DC) does not have the problems she's reporting and which aspects of those problems would concern me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

1 teacher can be alone with 12 kids. That's the law. But it's insane imo. Good thing I see 2 people with 12 kids or more in Centers.


If you keep pushing it they might hire another one because every assistant has their own schedule like 9-5, 7:30am - 4. The ones who come early leave early.

If the Director hires more people then he/she will charge, raise UP the tuitions.

The law varies by state, and sometimes by locality within a state. And the child - teacher ratio varies a lot by age. For example, in DC, with 2 year olds, the ratio is 1: 6. 1 teacher for 6 children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they paid better the assistants from centers. The government should fund more Education and Healthcare and social programs

they are paid plenty given an insane tuition rates

please elaborate on what "paid plenty" is? The higher the tuition doesn't necessarily mean better pay. The insurance on daycares is extremely high and that's what most of the money goes towards.

It's all for the director and daycare stuff.
They don't raise the teacher's or even worse the assistants salaries.
No wonder many Teachers have to find a second job you As$hole.

Well if you're an assistant in DC you're getting an extra 10,000 per year (since last year) from the ECEquity Fund. Teachers get 14,000/year. Teachers at my center make the same as DCPS teachers. Assistants make more than DCPS assistants. Plus they pay for you to go to school for free and give you a stipend for doing so. Free health care too, via the new HealthCare4ChildCare program. DC is a great place to be a child care teacher these days!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

1 teacher can be alone with 12 kids. That's the law. But it's insane imo. Good thing I see 2 people with 12 kids or more in Centers.


If you keep pushing it they might hire another one because every assistant has their own schedule like 9-5, 7:30am - 4. The ones who come early leave early.

If the Director hires more people then he/she will charge, raise UP the tuitions.

The law varies by state, and sometimes by locality within a state. And the child - teacher ratio varies a lot by age. For example, in DC, with 2 year olds, the ratio is 1: 6. 1 teacher for 6 children.

Right, and the regs also require at least 2 adults per group of children at all times so you shouldn't ever see a room with 6 2year olds and one adult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they paid better the assistants from centers. The government should fund more Education and Healthcare and social programs

they are paid plenty given an insane tuition rates

please elaborate on what "paid plenty" is? The higher the tuition doesn't necessarily mean better pay. The insurance on daycares is extremely high and that's what most of the money goes towards.

It's all for the director and daycare stuff.
They don't raise the teacher's or even worse the assistants salaries.
No wonder many Teachers have to find a second job you As$hole.

Well if you're an assistant in DC you're getting an extra 10,000 per year (since last year) from the ECEquity Fund. Teachers get 14,000/year. Teachers at my center make the same as DCPS teachers. Assistants make more than DCPS assistants. Plus they pay for you to go to school for free and give you a stipend for doing so. Free health care too, via the new HealthCare4ChildCare program. DC is a great place to be a child care teacher these days!

If it's a nice director they will give it to the teachers and assistants. I used to work as an assistant in Virginia and we worked as teachers too without an associate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they paid better the assistants from centers. The government should fund more Education and Healthcare and social programs

they are paid plenty given an insane tuition rates

please elaborate on what "paid plenty" is? The higher the tuition doesn't necessarily mean better pay. The insurance on daycares is extremely high and that's what most of the money goes towards.

It's all for the director and daycare stuff.
They don't raise the teacher's or even worse the assistants salaries.
No wonder many Teachers have to find a second job you As$hole.

Well if you're an assistant in DC you're getting an extra 10,000 per year (since last year) from the ECEquity Fund. Teachers get 14,000/year. Teachers at my center make the same as DCPS teachers. Assistants make more than DCPS assistants. Plus they pay for you to go to school for free and give you a stipend for doing so. Free health care too, via the new HealthCare4ChildCare program. DC is a great place to be a child care teacher these days!

If it's a nice director they will give it to the teachers and assistants. I used to work as an assistant in Virginia and we worked as teachers too without an associate

They get the money directly from the city, not via directors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This happened a couple of times at my daycare. Some of the teachers didn't come in until 9, but they were flexible about the kids' arrival so if everyone happened to be on the earlier side one day the ratios would be off. I said something to the Director and she got on top of it, and now it isn't a problem anymore.

The combining of kids at the end of the day is pretty normal IF they have enough teachers to maintain the ratio. My daycare does that as well. But again, they maintain the ratios

Same at my daycare. I have no issue combining rooms but I would be worried if the ratios were anywhere near as bad as OP reports.

OP says 9 kids with 2 teachers. That's normal because most kids are after 2 years old.

Or just don't send your kid to a Center. They maintain schedules.
If a teacher/staff comes early to work then they leave early 7:30am- 4pm for example.

If you want the Director to have more staff then they will raise the child's weekly tuition, deposit and parents needs to pay because it will be in the contract. I try to come early like 5 or 5:30pm.

Some centers have schedules like parents-director agree to drop off time and pick up time so the center have the appropriate staff. Not every staff will be at the center at 7am

OP said: "all kids whose parents have not picked them up yet (12-36 and up sometimes) in one room My husband count 12 kids of various ages and only 2 teachers present." That is the egregious ratio violation that would concern me. My daycare doesn't *have* 36 kids of all ages so that's not a concern. The last time they combined classes, there were 6 kids 0-4 waiting to be picked up, and four staff members looking after them. I maintain that there's no issue combining classes if ratios are maintained and my daycare has no problems doing this. Whether OP feels her kids are being safely cared for vs whether she can pay more is her risk assessment to make, but I'm just telling her that my daycare (also in DC) does not have the problems she's reporting and which aspects of those problems would concern me.

OP, you should call DC's licensing office. You can do it and remain anonymous to the program. Adult-child ratios are sacrosanct in child care. A program should NEVER be out of compliance, not even for a minute. A classroom can have a teacher out of the room but on site and accessible (like using the bathroom, running down to the office to get something). I have worked in child care programs, and we take ratios very seriously. On a bad weather day, for example, if some teachers are running late because of the road conditions, digging out their cars, the program won't let the parents drop off and leave the premises until enough teachers are present to meet ratio.

A program that doesn't take ratios really seriously is a sketchy program. You should report them, so they'll get a licensing visit, and maybe that will scare them into compliance.

Here are the ratio requirements for DC: https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/documents/Child%20Development%20Center%20Licensing%20Orientation%20Webinar%20%28Oct.%2010%2C%202018%29.pdf On page 30 of this slide deck.
ratio is 1 teacher to 4 kids for ages o to 30 months in DC
the group size requirement for ages 0-24months is 8 children, 2 teachers
the group size for ages 24-30 months is 12 children, 3 teachers.


Here is the submit a complaint info:
https://osse.dc.gov/service/licensing-and-compliance
Complaints and Unusual Incident Reporting
How can I report a complaint or unusual incident at a child care center?

To make a complaint about child care services call the Complaint Hotline at [phone] or send an email to [e-mail]. Complaints may also be faxed to the Licensing and Compliance Unit at [phone].

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they paid better the assistants from centers. The government should fund more Education and Healthcare and social programs

they are paid plenty given an insane tuition rates

It's all for the director and daycare stuff.
They don't raise the teacher's or even worse the assistants salaries.
No wonder many Teachers have to find a second job you heartless as$hole. I feel bad for your kids

The average Child Care Center Teacher salary in Washington, DC is $40,888 as of January 26, 2023, but the range typically falls between $36,974 and $46,545.
Give me a break, there are many people who work more hours, whose work is more demanding and are paid far less in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they paid better the assistants from centers. The government should fund more Education and Healthcare and social programs

they are paid plenty given an insane tuition rates

It's all for the director and daycare stuff.
They don't raise the teacher's or even worse the assistants salaries.
No wonder many Teachers have to find a second job you heartless as$hole. I feel bad for your kids

they don't raise your because you suck at your job, drive Uber