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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Does Anyone Else Work In a Center?
playground1 01:56 PM 06-04-2014
I kinda feel like I'm the only one that doesn't have my own business here.
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Blackcat31 02:03 PM 06-04-2014
We have several members here who work in a center.

We also have several members who own and operate centers.

I think a lot of our center workers are on-line during the evening and weekends since most centers don't allow internet use during working hours.
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playground1 02:09 PM 06-04-2014
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
We have several members here who work in a center.

We also have several members who own and operate centers.

I think a lot of our center workers are on-line during the evening and weekends since most centers don't allow internet use during working hours.
Understandably. Problem is I'm sleeping when they're online!
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Blackcat31 03:19 PM 06-04-2014
Originally Posted by queen_of_the_playground:
Understandably. Problem is I'm sleeping when they're online!
LOL! That's right....I forget you are across the pond..
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racemom 03:20 PM 06-04-2014
I work in a small center (licensed for 40). I work primarily in infant room but cover other areas as needed.
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NightOwl 06:41 AM 06-05-2014
I don't now, but I did for over 10 years!
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mskaykay 08:54 AM 06-05-2014
I am the director of a center with 120 children which means I can check out the boards a few times a day when I am suppose to be billing hehe but I sit here dreaming that I would so much rather have a home daycare then do what I am doing now.
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Retired 09:48 AM 06-05-2014
Originally Posted by mskaykay:
I am the director of a center with 120 children which means I can check out the boards a few times a day when I am suppose to be billing hehe but I sit here dreaming that I would so much rather have a home daycare then do what I am doing now.
With the way things are going, I think it's better to have a center job where you have a steady salary and benefits.
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Annalee 09:51 AM 06-05-2014
Originally Posted by Retired:
With the way things are going, I think it's better to have a center job where you have a steady salary and benefits.
Not that way here....if I only had 3 kids I could make what I made at a center working 40 hours because most centers only pay minimum wage. In my home, I can close holidays, vacation days, personal days and STILL get paid! I worked in centers for 3 years before beginning my home child care 20 plus years ago!
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mskaykay 10:34 AM 06-05-2014
The good thing is that I know I have a steady job any will be getting a pay check twice a month. On the other hand, I have 120 children, 18 staff members and make about 23,000 a year with minimal benefits. My high blood pressure is not worth that. Not to mention, when I was a teacher only I got to spend time with the kids which made the low pay and long hours tolerable, now its all angry parents who don't want to pay and misbehaving kids who need to be sent to the "principal". More than any of that, although my own infant dd comes to the center with me, I never see her and feel as though I am missing her grow up. That more than any of the financial reasons is why I am considering the switch to home.
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Retired 10:46 AM 06-05-2014
Originally Posted by Annalee:
Not that way here....if I only had 3 kids I could make what I made at a center working 40 hours because most centers only pay minimum wage. In my home, I can close holidays, vacation days, personal days and STILL get paid! I worked in centers for 3 years before beginning my home child care 20 plus years ago!
I think this is changing. You're on the tail end of what was the golden era of home daycares. I doubt many people will be able to be in business for decades if they start tomorrow. Schools/the state are taking children younger and younger. It wouldn't surprise me if schools start taking babies in the future (ten-twenty years from now). NJ is starting to get universal prek, NY has it, and so does CA. It's on the coasts. Slowly it will work its way inward when money becomes available. Once all three years are in for free, it will probably go younger and younger.
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Annalee 11:06 AM 06-05-2014
Originally Posted by Retired:
I think this is changing. You're on the tail end of what was the golden era of home daycares. I doubt many people will be able to be in business for decades if they start tomorrow. Schools/the state are taking children younger and younger. It wouldn't surprise me if schools start taking babies in the future (ten-twenty years from now). NJ is starting to get universal prek, NY has it, and so does CA. It's on the coasts. Slowly it will work its way inward when money becomes available. Once all three years are in for free, it will probably go younger and younger.
We were headed to universal pre-k but right now there is NO way to house the kids....so we have have stayed with the classes already in place..not to mention the national/state budgets...I, like you, do think it will be hard for new providers to begin like seasoned providers who have been around forever. Child care has wayyyy tooooo manyyyyy quirks that go with it right now!!!!!!
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Bookworm 02:42 PM 06-05-2014
I've been at my center for ten years. We're small with only 85 kids. I'm the fours teacher.
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Sugar Magnolia 05:21 PM 06-05-2014
Originally Posted by Bookworm:
I've been at my center for ten years. We're small with only 85 kids. I'm the fours teacher.
We're a small center......with 15 kids. Lol

Center owner/operator/Director here.
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missy 08:36 PM 06-05-2014
Originally Posted by mskaykay:
The good thing is that I know I have a steady job any will be getting a pay check twice a month. On the other hand, I have 120 children, 18 staff members and make about 23,000 a year with minimal benefits. My high blood pressure is not worth that. Not to mention, when I was a teacher only I got to spend time with the kids which made the low pay and long hours tolerable, now its all angry parents who don't want to pay and misbehaving kids who need to be sent to the "principal". More than any of that, although my own infant dd comes to the center with me, I never see her and feel as though I am missing her grow up. That more than any of the financial reasons is why I am considering the switch to home.
That's ridiculous that they only pay you $23k for a center that large and with that many staff!! Are you full time? If so they are soaking up the profits at your loss!
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mskaykay 08:40 AM 06-06-2014
Originally Posted by missy:
That's ridiculous that they only pay you $23k for a center that large and with that many staff!! Are you full time? If so they are soaking up the profits at your loss!
Yes I am full time. I have been at the center for 10 years and took the directors position the day I came back from maternity leave because the previous director had an accident. I was too emotional being back at work and too stressed with a new baby and new job that I let them take advantage of me and they didn't raise my salary until I had been doing the job for almost 5 months and I finally spoke up for myself. Even then they only raised it slightly, saying I needed more experience before a bigger raise. Boy, I learned my lesson.
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TaylorTots 09:56 AM 06-06-2014
I say in the next 10-20 years trolls will find something better to do.

At least I hope that's a troll with the wildly unfounded accusations designed to upset members of the forum....
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Retired 02:46 PM 06-06-2014
Originally Posted by TaylorTots:
I say in the next 10-20 years trolls will find something better to do.

At least I hope that's a troll with the wildly unfounded accusations designed to upset members of the forum....
Why are you calling me a troll? I don't mean to upset anyone, but universal preschool is coming (has came already in some places). Have you never heard of it before? Maybe if you don't live on the coasts, it might be a new concept to you.
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TaylorTots 03:05 PM 06-06-2014
Originally Posted by Retired:
Why are you calling me a troll? I don't mean to upset anyone, but universal preschool is coming (has came already in some places). Have you never heard of it before? Maybe if you don't live on the coasts, it might be a new concept to you.
I am a former pre-k teacher as well as a former Early Head Start teacher. I know what universal preschool is.

Making statements that it will go younger and younger are financially incorrect. Our government is barely able to fund the 4 year old preschool program in many states. Obama's recent proposal was overwhelmingly supported to implement further free pre-k programs. And indeed, the government has offered free ECE programs to younger than 4 that are based on low-income only. Those programs, like Head Start, have had budgets slashed time and time again. Unless our government is planning on going many many millions more into debt, a universal preschool under 4 years of age is very unlikely to happen anytime in the future. In fact, the American people have shown overwhelming support for decreasing budgets to pay off our large national debt. This means programs like Head Start or the universal preschool are likely to have funding cut drastically, likely to the point of closure. Either way, you are looking at a future of barely staying afloat of where we are in terms of free pre-k education and younger, barely managing to keep our current funding for those programs, turning to local taxes (which means that the low income areas will not be able to sustain the ECE programs themselves without state/national funding), or the U.S. discarding the overwhelming majority opinion to reduce national debt instead of accruing more.

Unless I am missing something big from every article I've read in the past 4-5 years on the topic, there is no funding source except further debt to make under Kinder programs free.

Sorry I called you a troll if you weren't trying to make an outlandish statement - the comments regarding babies entering "school" sounded trollish to me. Even our Early Head Start programs which are few and far between compared to any other under Kinder program available wouldn't be considered school as much as low income intervention to make sure parents are getting the resources to raise their children as well as the children are receiving proper medical care.

Sorry for the thread hijack
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Annalee 03:09 PM 06-06-2014
Originally Posted by Retired:
Why are you calling me a troll? I don't mean to upset anyone, but universal preschool is coming (has came already in some places). Have you never heard of it before? Maybe if you don't live on the coasts, it might be a new concept to you.
Troll or not, I don't know, BUT I have heard of universal pre-k and it is coming but it is standing still here due to government issues.....we can't house them...it is only income eligible and even that has met some slow-down...I can see more of a collaboration coming now with home daycare and school systems....that is in the works right now, I think, due to funding issues. I have a dvd in hand of the beginnings of that, but even that will take some time....I have six 4 yr olds right now that chose NOT to attend pre-k and will not attend school till Aug 2015....so pre-k is not as big an issue to me right now.....QRIS and licensing regs are my thorn in the side!!!!
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Retired 03:22 PM 06-06-2014
Originally Posted by TaylorTots:
I am a former pre-k teacher as well as a former Early Head Start teacher. I know what universal preschool is.

Making statements that it will go younger and younger are financially incorrect. Our government is barely able to fund the 4 year old preschool program in many states. Obama's recent proposal was overwhelmingly supported to implement further free pre-k programs. And indeed, the government has offered free ECE programs to younger than 4 that are based on low-income only. Those programs, like Head Start, have had budgets slashed time and time again. Unless our government is planning on going many many millions more into debt, a universal preschool under 4 years of age is very unlikely to happen anytime in the future. In fact, the American people have shown overwhelming support for decreasing budgets to pay off our large national debt. This means programs like Head Start or the universal preschool are likely to have funding cut drastically, likely to the point of closure. Either way, you are looking at a future of barely staying afloat of where we are in terms of free pre-k education and younger, barely managing to keep our current funding for those programs, turning to local taxes (which means that the low income areas will not be able to sustain the ECE programs themselves without state/national funding), or the U.S. discarding the overwhelming majority opinion to reduce national debt instead of accruing more.

Unless I am missing something big from every article I've read in the past 4-5 years on the topic, there is no funding source except further debt to make under Kinder programs free.

Sorry I called you a troll if you weren't trying to make an outlandish statement - the comments regarding babies entering "school" sounded trollish to me. Even our Early Head Start programs which are few and far between compared to any other under Kinder program available wouldn't be considered school as much as low income intervention to make sure parents are getting the resources to raise their children as well as the children are receiving proper medical care.

Sorry for the thread hijack
I only called it school, because that's what my NJ calls it. School, school programs, board of education are the wording they use when referring to universal preschool. You don't know what is down the pipeline. I'm an older woman. I've seen so many changes in my life time. If you told me of these changes decades before they happened, I wouldn't believe them. If you asked me in the 80s, would there be full day kindergarten in NJ, I'd spout the same thing you are about budgets. Things ebb and flow. Yes, we are in A LOT of debt but not more than other countries. If we do get times when there is surplus, universal prek will happen. As much as I hate to say it, most parents can't be bothered to pay for childcare. They think it should be "free". (Free, but from tax money...)

Also, a lot of homes/property/and land has foreclosed and gone back to the banks. I'm just saying if the government really wanted universal prek across the US, I don't see why it couldn't happen in 20 years. 20 years is a long time.
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Annalee 03:29 PM 06-06-2014
Originally Posted by Retired:
I only called it school, because that's what my NJ calls it. School, school programs, board of education are the wording they use when referring to universal preschool. You don't know what is down the pipeline. I'm an older woman. I've seen so many changes in my life time. If you told me of these changes decades before they happened, I wouldn't believe them. If you asked me in the 80s, would there be full day kindergarten in NJ, I'd spout the same thing you are about budgets. Things ebb and flow. Yes, we are in A LOT of debt but not more than other countries. If we do get times when there is surplus, universal prek will happen. As much as I hate to say it, most parents can't be bothered to pay for childcare. They think it should be "free". (Free, but from tax money...)

Also, a lot of homes/property/and land has foreclosed and gone back to the banks. I'm just saying if the government really wanted universal prek across the US, I don't see why it couldn't happen in 20 years. 20 years is a long time.
Well, I am fairly old, too....Kindergarten was not mandatory for me! Pre-k here is only for 4 yr old income eligible kids....if the class does not fill up they can take any child, but pre-k classrooms still are NOT filling up...that ought to tell you that I know a little bout what I am talking about, too!!!!! You are right in that changes are coming...and home daycares probably are trying to be weeded out, BUT I AM STILL HERE AND I WILL FIGHT TILL THE END! AS LONG AS CLIENTS WANT MY SERVICES, I WILL BE HERE! As you can see I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT I DO, I AM NOT A BABYSITTER AND DO NOT SIT IN THE CLOSET. I AM VERY INVOLVED ON STATE, LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS! I have been around a long time, too!!!! I think you are, in fact, a troll so I am signing off!
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Retired 03:56 PM 06-06-2014
Originally Posted by Annalee:
Well, I am fairly old, too....Kindergarten was not mandatory for me! Pre-k here is only for 4 yr old income eligible kids....if the class does not fill up they can take any child, but pre-k classrooms still are NOT filling up...that ought to tell you that I know a little bout what I am talking about, too!!!!! You are right in that changes are coming...and home daycares probably are trying to be weeded out, BUT I AM STILL HERE AND I WILL FIGHT TILL THE END! AS LONG AS CLIENTS WANT MY SERVICES, I WILL BE HERE! As you can see I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT I DO, I AM NOT A BABYSITTER AND DO NOT SIT IN THE CLOSET. I AM VERY INVOLVED ON STATE, LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS! I have been around a long time, too!!!! I think you are, in fact, a troll so I am signing off!
Thank you for the immature response.

I never said to anyone to close their daycares. I'm just talking about what my daughter has experienced. I think it's stupid to encourage newcomers, young people, to think this is a life long profession. Maybe it was if you started already. It's not if you're starting in 2014. Just as there is a thread on THE FRONT PAGE about not depending on daycare income. I'm the troll lady making this all up. Ok, bye everyone. Live in lalaland that never changes ever.
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