Originally Posted by Febby:
I'm not sure where in my state you are, but we had about the same snowfall. My class had a lot of absences, but about 70% of the center's children showed up on Wednesday (1/20), including several school teachers' children. Schools were closed, of course. We had plenty of staff, but there were a couple other centers, including one big one, that had to turn parents away due to lack of staff.
I'm in Louisville. and no, we are not teachers (my DH is software developer at a small bank chain, and I am a jobless student). what happened was, since my classes are all online this semester, I could manage my time enough to not fall behind, and this let me keep our daughter home. if the daycare was really close, she could have gone... or not. with it being 3 freeways away, I just did not feel like driving through the snow.
the daycare is relatively small, with the capacity of 49, and the director is always there (7 people on staff, including part-timers). most of the time, they are open. I think, once a year they do get into a pickle with the weather and have to close (we enrolled in May 2014, and this is the second closure due to weather).
my logic usually is, I don't absolutely have to go anywhere, so why not use this luxury and keep a child home when I don't trust the weather, the roads, and the drivers around me. I am in a much better position than, say, an emergency room doctor, who needs to be at work, come hell or high waters (used to work for one; never envied her money).
I can imagine something like Sacred Heart (it's the only huge one I know of) turning parents away because there is not enough staff. it is probably not an issue with our place.