Class sizes going forward

[Anonymous]

My kids daycare cut class sizes by almost half and divided the kids into smaller cohorts so there is no mixing. Does anyone know if DC is reconsidering these cohort size guidelines anytime soon given that all teachers and staff are vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

This is the $64M question. All schools are awaiting guidance from the CDC as they adjust according to spring data.

[Anonymous]

Daycares are operating at a loss with these reduced class sizes, which pretty much double their payroll costs in relation to their tuition revenue. They won't be viable businesses for much longer unless DC goes back to their pre-COVID class sizes, which resulted in razor-thin profit margins even then. The only reason the centers that haven't folded yet are still open is PPP assistance, and that dries up fast with negative revenue month after month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Daycares are operating at a loss with these reduced class sizes, which pretty much double their payroll costs in relation to their tuition revenue. They won't be viable businesses for much longer unless DC goes back to their pre-COVID class sizes, which resulted in razor-thin profit margins even then. The only reason the centers that haven't folded yet are still open is PPP assistance, and that dries up fast with negative revenue month after month.

Similar situation at our daycare. Ours is currently operating on a reduced schedule so that the same teachers can stay with the class all day (previously there were two rotations that switched out midday. So they've been able to reduce staffing costs a bit and no longer serve lunch, but are still in the red even with the PPP money. They did say though that it isn't just the capacity, there would need to be more families comfortable returning.

[Anonymous]

The issue is the kids aren't vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The issue is the kids aren't vaccinated.

If governments are going to keep reduced clas sizes until a ped vaccine is available, then they need to pony up and offer direct assistance to daycares rather than making them compete for PPP loans. Daycares already operate on a thin margin in normal times, you cannot reasonably expect them to continue operating at a loss for another year. At some point, if all the adults have access to the vaccine, you need to open it up and let parents make the choices that work best for their families. Same with schools.

[Anonymous]

Oh, how I wish I knew that! I direct a full day preschool! The issue is twofold:
1. we need to increase class sizes so we can get more tuition so we can pay our teachers without losing money every month.

2. we ALSO need to NOT have to create 6 ft around each cot and only have a few kids at each table - so if they increase the #s allowed in a room, they need to go back to allowing 3 ft between cots and 4 kids at a table for 4, because we can't keep adding tables and we don't have space for 15-20 cots all 6 ft awat from each other

[Anonymous]

It's almost like policymakers have zero direct experience with daycare or PK facilities and have not consulted any actual stakeholders in crafting these guidelines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's almost like policymakers have zero direct experience with daycare or PK facilities and have not consulted any actual stakeholders in crafting these guidelines.

Bingo.