School teachers???

[scharron]

i am new starting up and i have a parent looking for ft in sept but she is a school teacher so she keeps her child home all summer as well as christmas holisdays and march break. just wondering how others deal with this?? i'm not too keen on losing income during those times.

also i have a few other interviews coming up for parent's looking for ft care in sept. i was thinking of charging a 2 week NON refundable deposit to be used for the first 2 weeks of care. is this fair???

thanks!!!

[playfelt]

A lot of caregivers charge a non refundable two week fee but it applies to the last two weeks of care the family is with you so that they can't leave without paying.

I charge teachers either a higher fee for Sept-June plus they can come one day a week in the summer at no additional charge and they also have to pay for the first two weeks of the following Sept the beginning of June or I replace them.

[3belles]

Most people either are a Teacher's Daycare and only take teacher's children (and are closed Spring Break, Christmas Break and Summer) or they're not and they charge year round.

[Michelyn]

Having been on both sides of the fence (I was an ECE in the full day kindergarten) I understand the difficulty of having to pay for time not used; however, I valued my provider and made sure that she was paid for the entire year-- and let's just take look at the reality of a teacher's income...

Teachers makes about 3 times what we make in a year. They are salaried over 10 months with a portion reserved to cover their summers. I believe that some even collected EI (although I believe that has or is being changed). Teachers are also paid for Christmas and March Break - could you imagine their union's outcry if they weren't?

I personally charge teachers the same as my other families for Sept - Jun and then offer them 50% off for the summer - which works out to be 2 week paid in July and 2 weeks paid in August. The teachers are welcomed to use the time they've paid for - except for the one week which is my vacation time.

I'm sorry if I seem annoyed by this, but really, teachers need to start showing their providers a little more respect!

[Artsand crafts]

I think because of my location I've always had at least one teacher. I offer 3 weeks unpaid vacation for everybody including teachers. They are ok with paying for the rest of their days off. So far no teacher has asked me for more unpaid days or discounts. I wouldn't do it, anyways.

[sunnydays]

I don't offer any discount for teachers. If they want to keep the space they pay for the full space during their holidays just like all of my other families. They can keep their kids with me or keep them home, but I am not sacrificing my pay just because they get the summer off. I do know providers who only take teachers kids because they want to close for the school holidays...that is different...then I would not charge as I am not available to work.

[momofnerds]

I don't charge my teachers for the summer because I always pick up a kid to fill their spot for the summer.

[AmandaKDT]

I am a teacher. Teachers get their salaries adjusted so that they get income for the whole year, usually with a single payment given at the end of the school year to cover the summer (that is how it works in Manitoba anyway). It isn't like they don't have income for the summer, so I wouldn't feel bad for expecting some type of compensation.

The only time it would be difficult is if the teacher doesn't have a permanent contract and has to go year to year (or possibly month to month or day to day) not knowing where they will be working next. If the teacher doesn't work at a particular school until the end of the year they don't get paid for the summer months, but at the same time their salary isn't adjusted to cover the summer. I was in this situation, but I also worked at non-teaching jobs during the summer so I needed daycare year round when I was still working out of the home.

Just thought I'd share to help people better understand how teacher salaries work. If it were me I wouldn't let them not pay for the summer if you are planning to be open and cannot afford the loss of income.

[monkeymama]

I have two teachers families. I charge them 50% of regular rate to hold space over summer/holidays and they are entitled to send their child one day a week. I only do this because I am lucky to have another dck older sibling that I watch during these times and compensates for teachers children being off...If I didn't have this option I would charge regular rate

[Play and Learn]

As my hubby is a teacher, I like to have teacher's children.

I charge a non-refundable two-week deposit that becomes their first two weeks of care.

I take 6-8 weeks off unpaid (minus Stat holidays) a year including two weeks at Christmas, March Break and a couple of weeks throughout the summer. That being said, I'm still open the rest of the summer. If teachers would like the summers off, they have to pay me the non-refundable two-week deposit, and $100/month for July/August.

I haven't had any issues yet, and they appreciate me 100%. You as a provider just have to stand your own ground.