Teachers Schedule

[bright sparks]

I have had numerous teachers. I charged a 50% retainer in the summer and full price for Xmas and March Breaks, if they came then that was fine as it was their spot. My last teacher screwed me over big time. They say that they have no issue paying in the Summer until the summer arrives and they are paying out that much money completely unnecessarily. Then they will leave you high and dry...not always but commonly. This teacher in question also had 2 children in my care so a double dollar amount. $800 per month when she was at home honestly if I was in her shoes, it wouldn't be something I would do, it really is like burning money. That being said, the year and a half I had her first child and her second for 6 months counted for nothing when she found someone who was open only school year round and didn't charge for the off weeks. At the end of the day, that is an awful lot of money for them to lose out on for a service they do not require and at the same time it is a massive loss for a daycare provider to take. I think teacher only providers are the ideal scenario and since then I haven't signed up a teacher for the fact that I decided to charge per enrollment regardless of profession. I had to change my mentality from "something is better than nothing right?" thinking that 50% was better than nothing, when in reality if I didn't take that 50% retainer I could fill it with a full timer who wouldn't leave me at a moments notice should a more financially appealing spot come along. I have come across only 1 family of teachers who would pay the money that their provider was worth because the number one priority was the care in addition to having the luxury of being able to afford to which so many can not. So many parents in general put daily rate as number one criteria regardless of the provider and their program. I certainly wouldn't have the luxury of shelling out money for a service that I didn't require, and really from a parents perspective, it makes absolutely no financial sense to do so either.