Center Workers Or Former Center Workers

[TGPII]

If you do get benefits you can't afford them. Also to be an aid you need just a hig

If you do get benefits you can't afford them. Also to be an aid you need just a high school diploma. To be a teacher/director you need college. Yet places want to pay you like you have no college. Also I worked at one center were the owner and director treated the employers very poorly. I have usually worked m-f no nights(6:30 PM at the latest) or weekends, how many jobs give you that? If their is a high turnover why am I having issues getting back into the field?

One place wanted you to wear dress close ties for males, dress for females(you should see teachers in dress while trying to work with kids.) That cost more however the place did not want to pay more. Another place would always send me home. Why did you hire me if your going to send me home early?

I work in a small center (less than 100 children) and our turnover rate tends to be higher among part-time employees. Some of the reasons for this is because of low pay and the claim that's it "too much work".

I am a firm believer of "you get what you pay for" and I think that this why turnover is so high in centers. Add that to too many kids in a classroom and no benefits for employees, and you will always have high turnover in centers.

In my state there is no educational requirement to work in a daycare and some preschools. Most only look for 6 months experience so that the person they hire is able to be in a classroom by themselves at one point in the day.

There is always going to be a relatively high turnover in chain centers because the main concern is the bottom line and the kids and teachers come in second. This is my opinion based on working in a chain center for many years.

[TGPII]

Some say a high turn over rate is bad for students. However doesn't that prepare the

Some say a high turn over rate is bad for students. However doesn't that prepare them for the real world?

We have zero percent turnover here Nannyde, but as you know we are family run SMALL center. But we have a big center across the street from us. That building has housed 3 (!!) different daycares in the 6 years we have been here. We've had clients come here because they were sick to death of the constant turnover. I have a child who went there and had 4 teachers in 6 months. This child was about to turn one and was then eligible to come here. Mom went to pick him up one day and there was ONE teacher for TEN infants! A flagrant violation of law! He was enrolled here the next day. As a small center, it appalls me sometimes to hear how large centers conduct their business. To them, the name of the game is to have as many kids for as few (cheaply paid) staff as possible. Who thinks one staff person is appropriate for 15 (!!) 3 year olds? I don't! I'd quit too if I had to work in those conditions for minimum wage.

[TGPII]

does your child just attend preschool? What's the schedule of that and the money?

200/5 x 12 = 60 = 3.33 x 18 = 60

[Kaddidle Care]

Sometimes if someone is sick, there isn't enough coverage if they are running thin on staff in the first place. Not smart.

At our Center EVERYONE is part time and we have lots of people available to do substitute work. In fact, we have 4 that are stand by just for this purpose.

It's possible that when the woman went to pick up her infant the other staff member was in the bathroom. (sometimes you do have to go!) I hope she asked what the deal was.

[Ariana]

I would venture to say that this is accurate. Some centres that are unionized or gov't subsidized have very little staff turnover. The centre where I worked the average amount of time a teacher worked there was around 20 years! The high salary and good benefits meant higher job satisfaction and less turnover.

Like others have said the "chain" or "big box" daycares have lower pay, next to no benefits and hire unqualified people in their early 20's who tend to leave these types of jobs quickly. Even if they are educated they realize they can't exactly survive on $10 an hour.

I think those two put together and then averaged out would net similar numbers as to what you've said. Of course with all stats there are of course flaws and my experience comes from Canada.

[Kim]

I'm in Maryland. During college I worked at 3 different centers in MD- two were privately owned and 1 was a chain. The turnover rate at the chain center was much higher IMO. I left the first center (privately owned) because I moved. I left the second center (privately owned) because they couldn't accommodate my student teaching schedule while I was finishing college. They had a strict rule of working either a morning or afternoon shift so there was consistency for the kids- this was THE best center I've ever seen. They paid me well, respected me, were very organized and welcomed me back if I ever wanted to return. I still keep in touch with a couple people I worked with back then (it's been 10 years) and about half of the staff is still the same. The third center was a chain. I was there for 6 months just to get me through my last semester of college before I started teaching in the public schools. During those 6 months I worked with a different person many times. People were shifted from room to room wherever the warm body was needed. I was paid less than I was at the private center. I liked the director but I could tell she was frustrated at times of having to always answer to the franchise owner.

All that was about 10 years ago. Maryland Dept. of Ed. has made lots of changes since then to their training requirements for child care workers. They are much more strict now and are trying to focus more on making sure kids are more prepared for school rather than just allowing centers to have warm bodies in the room and I am happy to see it. The downside is that they are requiring more education for people in the field making it more difficult to qualify but the upside is that it reduces the turnover rate and keeps people that WANT to be in this field in it. Before these changes I worked with many people that had no interest in kids but thought it was an easy job to get them through college. These changes are also making it more difficult for directors to find qualified people because they can't afford to pay them more but they are required to spend more money these days on continued education. It's frustrating to have to spend more time and money for continued education but not see that reflected in your paycheck. Thankfully I already have a degree in ECED so the additional training I have to take is minimal each year. So many people around here think they can just start up a home daycare but don't understand that it's not that easy. Even home providers have to have a minimum of 24 clock hours of approved trainings to get started, 18 more clock hours your first year then 12 more each additional year. Staff qualifications also apply for centers. You can't just walk into a center and start working. You must qualify with proof of education or experience in lieu of education. It is broken down by age group/level- Infant/Toddler, Preschool and School Age. The last center I worked at I was an assistant director and had to supervise the director to help her get get her approval to be able to substitute in the infant room and preschool rooms when needed. She had experience with school age kids only so even though she was the director she couldn't substitute in the infant room or preschool room because she didn't have experience or education with those age groups.

All that just to say that I think the turnover rate you found is probably close to accurate at least speaking for the state of MD and other areas that have higher requirements for staff.

[SimpleMom]

I worked at two. Both were amazing centers with great staff. The main group leaders and Directors stayed on. It was the aides and teachers that came "into" the group that usually left the most.
So, for me it sounds right, but I've heard it's not the case for most Centers.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Some say a high turn over rate is bad for students. However doesn't that prepare them for the real world?

My opinion, but a child (especially babies, toddlers and preschoolers) should have stability in caregivers. Stability is good. Uncertainty is not good. "prepare for the real world?". Not at ages birth through five. I just can't see how high turnover and the uncertainty it brings, could be good for a small child, makes no sense. My center's complete lack of turnover is a very important plus for my families.

[My3cents]

The center I worked for had a 100% flip turn over to the point that it is not there anymore:: Bad Management, bad experience. Took the good and left the rest.....me happy now::