I have seen a lot of ideas as to how everyone charges (or not) teachers for summer breaks.... but what about March Break and Christmas?

I am (hoping to) switching to providing care strictly for teachers' children.

I have decided to charge a holding fee of $200 for the summer months to guarantee their spot for September, payable by June 15th.

I am a little stumped about how to handle the wording around March Break and Christmas Break. I plan to not offer care over these weeks. I still expect payment every 2 weeks, as I've calculated tuition based on what I need to make in one year, divided over the school year evenly.

I'm trying to word my policy so that it is clear that they need to pay every 2 weeks, regardless of closures, but also that I will not be available during the school holidays.

I was thinking of something like this:
Tuition periods commence on September 1 and end on June 30. Pay periods are bi-weekly. Receipts are provided at the end of every month.

Daycare is closed and unavailable on the following dates:
*stat holidays (list)
*March Break (exact dates will vary from year to year)
*Christmas Break (exact dates will vary from year to year)
*storm days (in which your family of schools is closed)

Please note that daycare is available on PD Days and early closure days. In some instances, daycare may be available in the week prior to the beginning of the school year (eg: last week of August), allowing a teacher time to prepare his/her classroom. If this is something you are interested in, this must be arranged no less than 4 weeks in advance. I reserve the right to say no if this request cannot be accomodated.


I guess I'm wondering if I need to explain my rates any further than this. Would it be too much info for a client to know that I've factored out the school year tuition evenly over the full months of attendance? In other words, accounted for holidays but with expected, regular and equal tuition payments? I have already talked to a few parents and told them that they are charged every 2 weeks, including over holidays, with no payment over the summer. They are both keen to sign but I am wondering if I should handle this a bit differently in the future.

How do you handle this?

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