School Teachers Wanting Discounts For Summer
Has anyone had school teachers for clients and they want discounts or not to pay at all for summer break? How did you handle it? If you gave them a discount , how much? Any input would be appreciated!
Michele |
In the beginning I didn't charge but took a non refundable deposit. I was also able to fill her spot over with someone who only needed summer care.
I have however stopped doing that, because its not always guaranteed to fill that summer spot, and my bills still need to be paid. I did end up losing that family, which was okay, I was able to fill their space with a year round family. Do what works best for your business and budget! |
Its important to remember that teachers only work a partial year but still earn a full year salary.
I feel it's disrespectful for them to think it's for you to lose income while they save. :rolleyes: Its up to each provider to set policies/rules they can live with but personally, I am allow only so many spaces and I need full payment for those spaces so I dont give discounts for seasonal employment. I work all year and expect payment all year. If they want to save money they can ask their bank for credit on their auto loans for all days/hours they don't drive their cars or ask their mortgage companies for credit for every day they aren't at home. Or maybe ask their cable service providers for discounts for each hour they dont have the TV on. |
I can't afford to hold a spot for anyone who isn't paying full price for it. All parents, regardless of profession, know they have an option when taking extended time off: they can pay to hold their spots and be guaranteed a spot when they return or they can take the risk that I'll have an opening when they need to come back.
I get how expensive day care is, especially if you don't really need it for the summer, so I don't take offense if they choose to risk it. I'm also willing to not charge if I need the spot for someone else who will be leaving when the other family wants to return. For example, when my own kids were younger, I didn't charge my 2 teacher families for the summer because I needed those spots. My kids counted in my numbers so not charging them and guaranteeing a spot in the fall worked for both of us in that case. |
Originally Posted by Blackcat31: I'm going to remember that in case I ever need it. |
We have teachers pay 1/2 the summer.
Teachers, at least in my state , do not get paid over the summer. They get the "leftover" of their salary in June |
Originally Posted by Blackcat31: Grrrrr, why would they even expect it? Don't they have any common sense? Where is the 'tearing out my hair' emoticon when you need it? Personally, I like to say something like the above so maybe they will get a clue and apologize or just to see that 'Duh, it never occurred to me that you do this for an actual living. Just thought you loved kids so much." :rolleyes: |
Originally Posted by Laurel: |
In the past, I allowed my teacher parents to take the summer off, but didn't guarantee them a spot in the fall. I like light summers.
My last teacher family paid for 2 days a week and could use whichever days I had available for them. That has been so long ago that the eldest is graduating next week and the youngest is a junior next year. |
I understand where you are coming from and understand you need to be paid to hold a spot.
But......Truth is teachers are paid for 180/190 days. They work nine months and are paid for nine months at least in the states I taught in. |
Originally Posted by Unregistered: Your child's absence really doesn't reduce my expenses. I didnt sign up for a job that only works/pays 9 months out of the year. |
There are home-based daycares, centers and preschools that close for the summer so that family could have opted for that initially and you do not owe them any discount since they knew you operated a year round program.
Regardless IF you want to work with them and keep them as clients I might suggest to them they reduce their number of days to 2 or 3 days per week in summer (if you feel you can fill the other days with someone else) or offer the summer off but require September tuition in full as a deposit (again only if you feel you can fill the spot in this case with a summer only child)..... As a teacher I initially selected a preschool for my dd that was only open September - June (which worked well for me at that point) when I moved dd to a full day year round program I sent her 3 days per week and had family help out with the other days and kept her with that consistent schedule in summer (I did pick her up early each day right after nap and snack and especially in summer we took additional days off to spend together.) Personally when I hear my peers complain about year round childcare I find it annoying because they do have options of programs that are school year only. :rolleyes: |
Another possible solution is to contract to save the space with a holding fee. I have this option in my contract though it is stated that it is used at my discretion.
I like having an easier summer and don't mind making a little less. My holding fee is 1/2 your normal rate and does not entitle you to child care. |
I charge teachers a higher rate during the year. They pay a holding fee (equal to 2 weeks tuition) to hold their spot over the summer.
I like the lighter load. I also charge enough that over the course of the year I am only out a few thousand. Totally worth it to have the time off with my own children. |
I am a person who offers free space during the summer for teachers BUT:
-I don't do this job for the money -I want to spend the summers with my kids camping etc and don't want to be tied to the house. -I only do part time anyway This is what works for me and MY business. You do what is right for you. If this was my full time job I would absolutely be charging for that time. Like BlackCat mentioned they get paid for that time off so why shouldn't you. I see a lot of teachers in my local FB providers group looking for people to hold their space for free and it kind of irks me. At the same time it works for some peoples business. |
Whenever I've had teachers' kids I've never charged them for the summers because they've always returned once school started and I always get SA dcks during the summer anyways.
In fact, this is the first summer that I requested a nonrefundable deposit to hold a teacher's spot over the summer. I'm learning. Slowly. But I am learning. :rolleyes: And I'll still be filled with SA dcks but I want to be reassured that I'll be filled when school starts back up too. |
I give my teacher families two options:
1. Continue to pay the full-time rate and use the spot whenever they want. 2. Pay for a half-time slot. They can only bring their child for the mornings, pick up must be before noon. This works for me, because I love to take my munchkins to the neighborhood pool in the afternoons. It is worth it to me to have a smaller paycheck, in exchange for having a slightly smaller group to supervise at the pool. I have never had a parent choose the full-time rate. And most of my teacher families only use the half-day slot a couple of times during the summer. Although, I do have one right now that uses it daily. But, that is OK. It is what I am contracted for. |
My teacher contract was -pay for 3 school vacations child did not attend.They paid through June and had up to 8 weeks off.I collected two weeks non refundable tuition to start when school started If they wanted summer care then they would be responsible for my summer vacation.
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From a Teachers perspective
I am a teacher. The reason I became a teacher is to spend time with my family and make a difference in the lives of children. I went to college for years and have the same amount of student loans as most other college grads but make less annually. I also pay out a lot of my income to better the lives of children who are not mine. Here is the question I have for you... do you not have more students over the summer whose parents are not teachers and who need summer care? Our daycare does not make teachers pay during the summer, but they have a set monthly rate during the school year ( IE no discounts for Christmas break or spring break.) In doing this they receive a lot of business from teachers. During the summer they fill up with school age children and still make a good salary. (Some teachers even leave their children in for some of the summer.) They have not lost money. The difference is our daycare is ran by former teachers who understand that money is tight and teachers want to spend time with their children... they are also required to pay out hundreds of dollars during the summer for school supplies and professional development. Just my thoughts.
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Originally Posted by MrsC: Filling temporarily empty spaces with school age children can be harder and very costly for family child care providers, which is why I do not offer a discount for teachers or parents with extended family leave. |
Originally Posted by MrsC: as for the original question- I do have one infant whose parents are teachers. I do not charge a holding spot for her. I have watched all 4 of their kids so we have an 8 year relationship. Their kidlet is a part timer- mom works 2 days a week. I like the lighter summer. I have taken off 4 fridays this summer and I have had a drop in child (grandparents usually have and they have had vacation etc) that has filled some of the empty spots. Lighter also means I can have some park days throw in here. My teacher usually meets us there with her gang and one of my other former moms who now is a stay at home mom to almost 3:) meets us too. That makes it seem more like summer to me- to be able to break routine. I guess if half of my kids were teacher's kids I might have to rethink my policy but so far it has not been an issue. You need to do whatever is best for you and your program. |
Originally Posted by MrsC: |
Originally Posted by MrsC: I get that some careers require personal development and training to be paid out of pocket. Daycare is one of them. I can't logically discount care for every bill a family has. That's kind of ridiculous to expect. It's also not fair for other families to give special treatment to teacher clients. Why are their expenses more credible than those of other clients? If I had someone come to me saying they have to buy school supplies and pay for professional development, I would just say hey me too! I do allow families to go part time over summer if they need it. I do however let them know that if I find someone to fill the spot full time, a choice has to be made. Either pay full time for the remainder of the summer or lose the spot come fall. |
Originally Posted by Thriftylady: |
My teacher family pays 1/2 tuition and gets 2 set days per week in the summer.
In my 30 years of child care I have always had a teacher family. When my kids were young I LOVED the lighter load in the summers. Now that I am way older :D I still enjoy the lighter load. I've only ever had 1 teacher family at a time and they have all being long term families, infant to kinder plus siblings. |
Originally Posted by MrsC: I chose my profession.... just like you chose yours. Where I live many teachers make a very good salary yet do still say they are not paid enough. Many providers make the same argument. I think both professions are one in the same as the cost of taking care of children on both levels is expensive and tests the best of people. Don't assume that providers don't have student loans as many of them hold some sort of degree. Personally, I am in school for something else so that doesn't apply to me. Some providers have a lot of teacher clients...so that provider should expect no money for her bills because more than half her clients don't want to pay for something they're 'not using?' I did this job to raise my son before he goes to school and I find I have even less time with him but I need to make a sufficient income. I run a business and I need to keep that business going as well as take care of my family. Year round. I don't give one group of people special treatment over others no matter their profession. That would fall in a category of being beyond my job. |
Whenever I see the teacher discount issue surface, I wish I had a polite concise way to explain how our income works. A LOT of my gross income is put back into my child care. I could make a TON more money if I didn't do all of these enriching activities for the children. They are not all required but I do them because I want to provide the best care and let kids have special fun too. Some things are not even deductible on my taxes so it comes out of my personal net income.
I have had teachers say how they spend $400 a year! and I think wow, I spend more than that a month. year round. |
Originally Posted by JackandJill: I'm tired of teachers thinking they somehow deserve special treatment because of their profession. There are pros and cons for every job out there. I don't make the cons of my job, my dentist's problem so it gets old when teachers feel they need "justify" why they deserve different treatment. :rolleyes: |
I dot currently has teachers, but I have two options for them:
Option one: pay a higher weekly rate and have all vacations "free" including summer. Put a non refundable holding fee down in June for the spot in September. I figure out the math and make sure the rate is high enough to cover these. No care over for vacations/summer. Option two: switch to part time during the summer. I choose the days that work. Full time rate is due all other times of the year. Or, they can choose a school year program somewhere else. Bills don't stop in the summer just because their job does. |
I'm a teacher too.
I chose this profession because I love watching kids learn. I enjoy helping them figure things out. I've been going to school for years but have no loans because I paid upfront by saving until I could afford each one. I pay all my own taxes, health insurance, retirement, continuing education costs, my own supply fees, heat, air, upkeep and repair on my facility. I pay thousands per year for any enrichment activities or improvements to the facility. I make less per hour because after I pay all of the above, plus all routine costs, and divide by the 65-75 hours per week I work, not much is left. I don't think you view an early childhood educator as a peer. We are teachers. Usually their FIRST teacher other than an parent and your post has me scratching my head wondering why our value should be dismissed so easily by suggesting that because a teacher works within a school year setting, and I don't, my needs aren't as important. This is becoming a nonissue as many schools are developing a balanced calendar. Maybe when that happens everywhere ECE providers won't be questioned about this as often because the breaks will be disbursed throughout the year rather than in a lump during summer. It still bothers me when I read or hear of someone suggesting their career choice should trump my own paycheck. If it's that hard to pay through the times a teacher is off maybe an automatic savings account withdrawal option would help them to prepare for childcare costs through the summer. Originally Posted by MrsC: |
Originally Posted by Blackcat31: |
Originally Posted by Blackcat31: This how I feel too. I don't like being asked to lower my income so they can have a great summer. |
And not to mention the THOUSANDS that I spend for the fun stuff, not just the needed food, equipment, and other expenses.
I'm going to go cry now.....I just tallied my monthly expenses and.....tear. |
I live in a school district that is year round... I also have teachers & professors as clients that take classes in the summertime they don't just teach 10 months each year so it makes no sense to discount my fees, plus I am infant only childcare with a limit of 4 children (I also have 2 degrees). Like it has been said, I offer a service I am not your hired help - if you don't like my policies, feel free to look elsewhere
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Teachers pay the full amount.
In the past I've offered a discount if I filled their spot with another child. But then, the other child sometimes didn't actually come, or wanted to pay only for the days they were here. So I was left with less income. Now, teachers pay full price every month. Makes my life easier. |
Originally Posted by Unregistered: I have a question about your comment. In my state, Missouri, the average teacher salary is around $40,000. Now I understand that teachers do a lot of work at home and use their own money for school stuff. I don't want to sound insensitive when I say this because I do believe teachers are great. But 40 grand isn't too bad for as you say 180-190 days. To make that salary stretch isn't a matter of budgeting? You can't expect people to give you a break because your choice of profession. You certainly can ask but have to understand that not everyone can accommodate that request. |
Originally Posted by Leigh: Thankfully our home daycare lets us reduce to 2 days a week in the summer. She has her own 3 school aged children home with her for the summer so she's filled to the brim with kids each day so not having my 2 added to the mix every day is just fine. Glad to have found a set up that works for both of us. |
Originally Posted by Unregistered: I LOST money last year. I have never made more than 12,000 doing daycare. I KNOW teachers make more than that, even after their expenses. We are talking about two different things really with expenses. No, I don't think teachers should have to pay for supplies out of pocket based on the taxes I pay. But, I shouldn't loose even more money based on a parents job. If I did that for teachers, then my nurses would want a discount when they worked over and I kept the kids a double shift, but they got the next day off because of that. My office workers would say, but I got vacation time, so I don't want to pay for those days that I take a day here and there. If I do it for one person, I have to do it for all. I can't afford that. |
Originally Posted by Unregistered: Here in Michigan, I will not give teacher discounts. Teachers make good money and have great benefits. My mother worked 25 years as a teacher and retired making $80K a year, and $50K as a pension. That doesn't include social security. I do not take school aged children, so the kids I enroll are year round until they enter Preschool or Kindergarten. There is a daycare in town that only takes teachers kids because she likes their schedule. Someday I might head that way. It never hurts to ask if this will work for a daycare provider. I just wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't work for them. And perhaps, they end up complaining on here or facebook groups about the situation. |
Originally Posted by Unregistered: If not then you DO earn a yearly salary. Whether it's spread out over 9 or 12 months doesn't matter. When hired, they said you will earn $X per year so you ARE being paid a YEARLY salary. Originally Posted by Unregistered: Her kids eat too and being home for the summer means her food costs go up. etc... But yep, you are right....it's sure nice of her to lose out on income so you can spend time with your kids AND save money too! :rolleyes: |
3/4 income?
How about 1/4? My father was a trucker. A friend of his was also a trucker. My father drove Sunday night to Saturday afternoon 51 weeks a year. His friend only drove for 3 months a year. He made more money than my father did. He drove further up North, across ice, so being a higher risk, and a short season, his pay made it worth it. The other 9 months, he was free to do as he pleased. Being a teacher isn't as risky, but it is still a job that doesn't last all year. Pay is for the year, so has to be figured out to work for the year. If they can't do that, they need to get a summer job. Some daycare providers may focus on that market. That's what I'm thinking about doing. What I'm thinking about doing is child care with part time woodworking. I may take the summer to do only woodworking so I can have time to make more products for upcoming Christmas sales. For that, teachers would be perfect. |
Originally Posted by Unregistered: |
I haven't had a teacher for a number of years, but in the past, I did develop a policy of allowing them to reduce to part-time during the Summer months while retaining a spot in my program. It was a little less $ but also a little less work for me. I was not holding a spot for free over the Summer, which is a no-go for me.
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Average teacher salaries for the 2014-2015 school year in my area ranged from $66,000 - $75,000 per year depending on the school district. Many of my dc parents who teach make more than my husband and me combined even before I figure in my dc expenses. I have no qualms about charging to hold a spot over the summer. :)
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When I first opened in WI I held 3 FT spots - one an infant spot - for a family over the summer. Within a month of school starting again they had transportation issues and left my care. I learned my lesson!
Now I offer a choice: continuing FT care at the regular rate or 2 days a week at 50% the regular rate or un-enrolling and taking the chance that the opening won't be available in the fall. But I had a friend with all teacher's kids who'd set aside some of her salary during the school year and close over the summer. I'd love to do that but I've never had all teacher's kids. Another thought came to mind just now... You could offer to pro-rate their school year payments to cover the summer so they wouldn't have to pay over the summer. |
Originally Posted by MrsC: You know what's not super awesome? Customers who expect us to conform to what they think our business should offer. As with any business, there will never be a one size fits all solution. I'm not sure what your intent was with this posting, but I must say, you came across with a very "holier than thou" attitude which is probably why you are receiving so much flak for "just your thoughts". |
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