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Unregistered 06:54 AM 10-09-2020
I’ve never had a teachers child before. I have one interested in my program. The hours aren’t bad but she wants summers off. How do you go about that situation? Doesn’t want to pay full rate to hold the spot. My contract is you pay for the spot not attendance.

Also this is an infant. I worry about adjusting after being out of care for three months. Basically the baby would only be in care for two months and then out for three months during the summer.

Would you guarantee a spot in the fall?
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Sunshine69 07:03 AM 10-09-2020
No, I would not guarantee the spot in the fall.

Infant spots are too easy to fill, there’s no way I’d be willing to lose that kind of money.

For people who want a full-time spot but don’t want to pay weekly, I just raise their weekly rate to cover the weeks they don’t want to pay for.
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CountryRoads 07:07 AM 10-09-2020
If she doesn't want to pay in the summer, then she loses her spot. I would just make sure she understands that a spot may not be available when she needs it and she will need to contact you closer to that time to see if you have any availability.

Why would you take a major loss so someone else can save?
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Blackcat31 09:09 AM 10-09-2020
I charge 52 weeks a year. My rates are based on enrollment not on attendance or time used.

It's important to remember that even though teachers only work a partial year, they still receive a full yearly salary.

If they pull out for summer I will not re-enroll. Even if I have the space. I refuse to lose money so someone else can save money. That is not good business practice.

Options that work nicely are

Charge full rates 52 weeks a year. Allow parent to pull out for summer and risk loss of their space

OR

Take what your yearly fee is (weekly rate x 52 weeks) and divide that by 9 months and make that higher rate the rate for the time the child is in care. This allows the parent to withdraw from care for the summer and you will still be paid the same as any other family


I feel if providers give teachers "special" rates etc for not working in the summer then I think you need to do the same for all families. This includes seasonal workers that may get laid off in the winter etc and those that work shift work etc. Teachers aren't special in regards to child care.
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e.j. 10:40 AM 10-09-2020
Teachers are no different from other working parents as far as I'm concerned. If they want me to hold their spot for them, they need to pay for it. I always tell them if they want a guarantee that their spot will be available to them in the fall, they will need to pay me to hold it. They can bring their child throughout the summer or not; that's up to them but I need to maintain my income. I can't stay in business if I'm not making enough money to justify staying open. I am willing to take them back in the fall IF I have an opening but since I'll be working to fill the spot, there's little chance that I will. When I explain why I charge, most parents understand and choose to pay even if they don't like it. Most of my parents are teachers and they've all referred others to me so it isn't the deal breaker you would think it could be.
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Ariana 12:49 PM 10-11-2020
I charge teachers a higher rate all year and then have their child attend part time over the summer. It works for me because I have my own kids home all summer and want less kids. You have to do what works for you. I think charging a higher rate and giving them the summer off or option of part time makes them feel they are getting a good deal.
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AmyKidsCo 01:28 PM 10-12-2020
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I charge 52 weeks a year. My rates are based on enrollment not on attendance or time used.

It's important to remember that even though teachers only work a partial year, they still receive a full yearly salary.

If they pull out for summer I will not re-enroll. Even if I have the space. I refuse to lose money so someone else can save money. That is not good business practice.

Options that work nicely are

Charge full rates 52 weeks a year. Allow parent to pull out for summer and risk loss of their space

OR

Take what your yearly fee is (weekly rate x 52 weeks) and divide that by 9 months and make that higher rate the rate for the time the child is in care. This allows the parent to withdraw from care for the summer and you will still be paid the same as any other family


I feel if providers give teachers "special" rates etc for not working in the summer then I think you need to do the same for all families. This includes seasonal workers that may get laid off in the winter etc and those that work shift work etc. Teachers aren't special in regards to child care.
IMO the second option is better because I've had too many families give notice effective the week before one of my paid vacations. Now I pro-rate like BlackCat described for everyone and they don't bring payment when I'm closed for "pre-paid" vacation.
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Jo123ABC 12:27 PM 10-14-2020
I've mostly preferred teacher parents over non- teacher parents actually. I try to snatch them up for my daycare. They are the easiest to work with I think. I have one that works a different job in the summer and another who does part time usually though I've made it clear I may not always be able to do that. She often switches to full time the beginning of August anyway so really it's only 2 months of part-time care. If part-time is a possibility for you this year maybe you could try to work with them and offer that but make it clear that you don't know what your situation will be next year. If you have more than one teacher family or if they have two kids maybe they could switch days so it functions like a full spot split between 2 kids. My part time teacher family has two kids. One is school age so I can have her on top of the 7 under age 5. She'd bring her two kids three days a week so I actually made more money than I would with one full time kid. Does that make any sense? I know of daycares who only take teachers kids then they get their summers off! They probably have a higher rate but teachers prefer them for the summers off.
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Tags:schedule - teacher, teacher - schedule, tuition not based on attendance
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