But she was my favorite teacher!

When a teacher leaves an early childhood center, everyone wants to know why. Unfortunately, employers cannot compromise employees’ privacy by sharing details of these sometimes sudden departures. When teachers who leave broadcast their version of the separation, centers get flack for what may sound like unfair treatment. Parents also grow suspicious when very few departure details are released. “Was the teacher fired? What for?!”

After having made a thoughtful decision to hire someone, centers want to give staff every opportunity to meet their expectations. Extra training often brings people up to speed; other times, subtle differences in philosophy can have negative impact on quality of care and the cohesiveness of a teaching team.

Sometimes a bad fit is evident early on. Although no one likes disruptions, there are cases where everyone agrees that a teacher is not working out. Other times, though, an apparently popular teacher may leave or be asked to leave. While directors understand the emotional bonds that other staff, children, and parents form with teachers, they can’t staff centers via popularity contests. A teacher who has great rapport with children may not be suitable for a teaching position due to other important aspects of the job:

• Behind-the-scenes issues: documentation, caring for challenging children, favoritism, etc.
• Difficulty working with other staff, meeting employment requirements, following directions, etc.
• Unacceptable employee behaviors: tardiness, absenteeism, gossip, and other behaviors that undermine a productive workplace.

There are also many reasons unrelated to performance for which a teacher may choose to leave:

• Personal or family health issues
• More desirable offer from another center or employment sector
• Shifting home/work priorities.

1. What can parents do about staff turnover in the face of an information blackout?
2. Keep an open mind and positive attitude about new staff.
3. Give your center director feedback when things go right. Everyone remembers to point out negatives, but positive feedback helps directors get a balanced perspective.
   Protect teachers’ privacy (and dignity). Resist the urge to gossip, and always consider the other side of the story.

--M.D.

Out and About

Zero to Three Weighs in on Continuity of Care

How to Evaluate A Childcare Provider: from the American Academy of Pediatrics

Buried in School Papers?

Back to school season brings an avalanche of paperwork for parents. Lunch menus, permission slips, fundraisers, newsletters...it's easy for important information to get lost in the shuffle. The following tips will help you tame the paper tiger.

• Establish a single spot for "important" daily papers. This can be a basket on the kitchen counter, a wall pocket or a portable hanging folder file. Depositing papers is a perfect chore for preschoolers, who crave order and want to feel like "big kids." September is the perfect time to establish this habit. (And take heart: even if you don't follow any of the other organizational tips below, having all this paper in one place will make it relatively easy to dig things up in a pinch.)
• Put a folder inside your child's backpack to ferry papers to and from school. If you have several children, give them different colors. This protects the papers and keeps them together.
• Check the paperwork every night. Cull things that can be recycled and act on those those that require a response. During the morning rush, it's hard to make decisions about book orders and it's too late to bake the 24 brownies you agreed to send in to school! Handle each piece of paper once...resist the urge to thumb through paperwork when you don't have time to write out checks or put dates on the calendar. It just creates twice as much work.
• Keep a recycling bin and calendar close to your important papers spot. Completed dittos and other busy work can go straight into the bin. Write important dates on the family calendar, then recycle those papers, too. Keep great examples of your child's work (a large bin under their bed is a great depository for this kind of thing) and classroom papers with key info: regular schedules, long-term projects, etc. Every week's newsletter may not need to be saved. Ask yourself, "Can I get this information somewhere else if I recycle this piece of paper?"
• Complete book orders, permission slips, etc. as they come in, rather than waiting until the due date. Your child's teachers will appreciate it and it will help you stick to the one paper, "one touch" rule.
• Post menus inside a kitchen cabinet door for easy access.
• When your "must keep" important papers pile up, put them in a three-ring binder for future reference.

Do you have another time management/family organization problem that needs suggestions? Write to us!

- H.V.

Out and about:

Create a Kitchen Command Center

All the calendar a family needs

Portable hanging file

Welcome!

When I started caring for young children in my home daycare many years ago, the internet was a figment of someone's imagination...and now, it's many people's primary source for news, information, and even entertainment. We've always had monthly newsletters at our centers and we've had a website for many years, but we'd like to offer one more way to connect with family, staff, and others who are interested in early childhood education.

This blog will allow us to discuss timely topics, share our opinions and experiences, and highlight events of interest to local families. We call it occasional blog, but you can count on a new post once at least once a week. We hope you'll find our blog an interesting and useful forum!

- G.P.