8 Things your childcare provider hates to hear

There are many excuses that people give for not paying childcare tuition on time.   However, as long as everyone is still alive, there is generally no good excuse for not paying your childcare provider on time.   We will address some common excuses along with how childcare providers perceive these excuses and solutions to some situations that can arise. 


I forgot payment was due today.  
This excuse is unacceptable.  This sends the message that your childcare provider is so insignificant that you forgot to pay for services you feel entitled to receive.  You did not forget to drop off your child, because that was important to you. So do not forget to pay your childcare provider.    


I forgot my purse and or wallet. 
Although with busy schedules it is understandable that one might forget a purse, wallet, ATM card, etc., if you pay early or pay upon drop off rather than pick up, this will never be an issue.

 

 

I know payment is due on Friday but I do not get my paycheck until Saturday so can I pay you on Saturday? 

Make two payments when you first start, that way you will always be one payment ahead.  It is not the provider’s responsibility to accommodate when your boss decides to pay you,  it is the parent’s responsibility to make sure the childcare payment is made on-time every time without excuses.  You know how much and when the payment is due well in advance, plan according.     

 

I did not did not have time to go to the ATM.   

This translates to your provider as, I chose not to pay you on time.   If you pay early or pay upon drop-off rather than pick up, this will never be an issue.


Can I drop it off to you over the weekend? 
No, the daycare center will be closed and no individual provider wants their private time imposed upon because a parent chose not to pay on time.  Just be prepared to pay the late fee.  This excuse not only conveys the message that you don’t deem your childcare provider important enough to pay on time, you further devalue their time by thinking they should be available to you after business hours

 

 

Can I drop it off after the close of business day?  

No, the daycare center will be closed and no individual provider wants their private time imposed upon because a parent chose not to pay on time.  Just be prepared to pay the late fee.  This again conveys that the childcare provider is not important enough to pay on time and you could care less about their personal time. 

Times are hard right now and I just don’t have the money.  Can I pay some now and some later?

No, make cuts somewhere else.  I am sure childcare is more important than cable TV.   The other alternative is to find cheaper childcare but remember, you generally get what you pay for.

I know I did not pay on Friday and it is Monday morning.  I only have a partial payment, can I give you this and then give you the rest when I pick up? 

I must say, this is one of the more irritating ones for me.  Just be prepared to pay the late fee for not paying on time on Friday and an additional late fee for not paying in full upon dropping off of your child.  This shows the provider that you do not care about paying them at all and you feel that they should be satisfied with getting paid whenever you get around to it.  This type of behavior can quickly lead to contract termination. 

Childcare providers work very hard and do not want to deal with excuses when payment is due.  What if you childcare provider “forgot” that you wanted to drop off on Monday morning or “forgot” to feed your child lunch would you be understanding?  How would you feel if your boss forgot that it was payday?  Would it rest well with you if your boss said that he/she could not pay you on payday but offered to bring your payment to you during your off time?  If you answered honestly, I am sure that the answer is NO!  So do not expect it to be accepted, understood, or allowed by your childcare provider.    

 

Contact us with questions or comments via  www.theexperteducator.com or you can email smiller@theexperteducator.com.

 

Preschool Nutrition Can Be Challenging - stjoechannel.com

Preschool Nutrition Can Be Challenging - stjoechannel.com

Howard University sees enrollment surge

 

Sept. 27, 2013, 10:52 p.m. PDT

The Washington Post News Service

(c) 2013, The Washington Post.
WASHINGTON — Howard University leaders on Friday hailed the second-largest freshman class in 15 years, an influx of 1,596 new students who have helped the school rebound from an enrollment plunge a year ago.
University President Sidney Ribeau, speaking at a convocation on the campus in Washington, told the Class of 2017 that its size is evidence that Howard is on the rise after a trying year for one of the nation's most prestigious historically black centers of higher learning.
"Now, I'm not one to argue with the pundits and the newspapers," Ribeau said, "but I think numbers need to speak for themselves sometimes. There's a demand for the Howard product. There's a demand for a Howard education. And these students represent that demand."
Total enrollment stands at more than 10,330, Ribeau said, up 3 percent from the fall 2012 count of 10,002. That marks a partial recovery from last year's drop of 5 percent.
Last year's enrollment decline, along with financial troubles at the university hospital, federal budget cuts and other issues, generated internal debate over the management and future of the university. Its standing in the U.S. News and World Report college rankings has fallen. Its credit rating was downgraded this week by Moody's Investors Service.
But Ribeau and other university officials say Howard will survive and thrive. "Let me say, we are strong here at Howard," said Addison Barry Rand, chairman of the board of trustees. "No matter what people may say on the outside, we are strong here at Howard."
Founded in 1867, Howard will mark its sesquicentennial when first-year students such as Jarrett Powell and Natalie Honor are scheduled to graduate.
Both said they chose Howard, a private university with annual tuition and fees of about $22,700, over home-state universities with a lower price. Both said they are the first in their family to attend Howard.
Powell, 18, of West Palm Beach, Fla., called Howard "the place where African Americans come as a foundation to strive for better things." Honor, 18, of Los Angeles, said Howard offers "the perfect experience and opportunity to begin shaping myself."
As they were interviewed outside Cramton Auditorium, a couple dozen students, faculty and staff members were holding a demonstration to draw the board's attention to various grievances.
Some university employees said they were worried about job security. Some students and a few professors said they wanted more transparency on the university's fiscal condition.
"We need positive action from the administration and also the board to fix the issues we currently face," said Gregory Jenkins, a professor of physics and astronomy who helped organize the rally.
Valerie Previl, 21, a senior from New York, said some students were getting "fed up" with hearing about the university's troubles without getting answers. Her message to the administration: "Definitely talk to us. Let's open up the channels of communication."
Willie Lucas Jr., an electrician and longtime employee, said he was demonstrating to show his concern over the university's finances. He said his wife and daughter graduated from Howard. "I just hate to see Howard going down," Lucas said. "I love Howard University. . . . I'm worried about the state of the university, period."
Ribeau, who has led the university since 2008, projected confidence in his 18-minute speech inside the auditorium as he and faculty members gathered in their academic robes to welcome the new students. Near him as he spoke were trustees and Prince George's County (Md.) Executive Rushern Baker III, a Howard alumnus. Behind Ribeau sat Renee Higginbotham-Brooks, vice chairwoman of the board and a sharp critic of the president and the chairman.
"There are a lot of believers right here in this room — and believers in Howard University," Ribeau said. "Nothing is impossible if one believes in the possibilities of life. . . . This year is going to be a great year for Howard University, for the Class of 2017."
bc-howard

www.theexperteducator.com

Disgusted!

 

 

 

I Usually I do not post personal experiences on my blog.  However this is something I must share.  I was completely infuriated when I encountered a teenage student I am tutoring who was completely gross.  His hair was so nasty. He was scratching it and plucking the dandruff across the table.  There was white stuff in the corners of his mouth.  He clearly had not brushed his teeth, his clothes were dirty, and he smelled like underarms, bad breath, and dirty clothes.  At that moment, the session stopped.  I had a hygiene talk to him and a conference with his mother.  I even let them know that if this situation occurred again, I would no longer accept him as a client.  Although there is not father in the picture, there are no special circumstances that lead to this situation like, not having access to soap, water, and toiletries.  The student just decided he was not going to properly clean and groom himself and the mother decided not making him do it.  Contrary to what some may believe, teenagers are still minors and need guidance.  Help guide them in the right direction.   

www.theexperteducator.com
 

 

Clean Children Wanted

 

 

It is important to take your child/children to daycare and or school clean and well groomed.  Remember to properly bathe your child/children, comb their hair, brush their teeth, moisturize their skin, and dress them in clean weather appropriate clothing.   It may sound harsh but no clean daycare provider or teacher wants to touch or be anywhere near a dirty, non-groomed child.

Make sure your child does not start out at a disadvantage.  Help them be successful everyday.  

www.theexperteducator.com

 

 

 

Md. to give MSA, though results won't be used to gauge school progress

 

State believes it would be violating federal law if it stopped giving MSA, which doesn't align with new curriculum

By Liz Bowie, The Baltimore Sun

2:00 AM PDT, September 16, 2013

Maryland wants to continue annual assessments of students this year at a cost of about $9 million, even though the scores wouldn't be used to gauge school progress — one of the main reasons for giving the tests.

State officials, in plans to be considered by the Maryland State Board of Education this month, said they would continue to give the Maryland School Assessments to comply with federal law. But, they said, the results won't provide reliable data for evaluating schools and teachers because the tests are geared to curriculum that's being phased out.

The new common core curriculum, launched this year in every public school in the state, won't have new assessments to match until the 2014-2015 school year. The state must field test the new assessments next year, and officials say they have chosen to do so on 50,000 students across the state — a small group of students in every elementary and middle school.

A Maryland teachers union is calling for a one-year moratorium on testing. And the National Education Association, another teachers union, said the focus during this year of transition should be on making sure teachers are prepared and getting enough support to teach the new curriculum rather than on testing.

"It doesn't make sense to give a test that you know is not aligned to what you are teaching because that is just a waste of everyone's time and, frankly, money," said Donna Harris-Aikens, the NEA's director for education practice and policy.

State officials say they must go forward with the MSA, given in math and reading to third- through eighth-graders, because annual state tests are required under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Until Congress reauthorizes the law, said Jack Smith, the chief academic officer of the Maryland State Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Education has little choice but to enforce the provision.

"There will be some benefits that can be derived from the test," Smith said, though he acknowledged: "It is not a perfect situation or a particularly good situation to administer the MSA during this transition."

The timing issues have arisen as states struggle to put in place several reforms, including the common core, the new assessments and a new teacher evaluation system based on the new tests. Many states agreed to an aggressive timetable because they were trying to win federal dollars under an education reform competition called Race to the Top.

If given the go-ahead by the state board, Maryland officials would ask the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver from some requirements under No Child Left Behind. First, state officials are asking for permission to forego giving the old Maryland State Assessment to the students who are taking the new test. Without the waiver, those students would have to take tests in March.

And because some students would be taking the news tests, state officials said they would have only partial data on student achievement in each school, so it would be unfair to use the test results to rank schools. Officials propose keeping in place the current rankings, called the School Progress Index, until schools can be evaluated under the new system.

Maryland also is seeking to delay tying a teacher's evaluation to test scores until next school year. Under a new system, as much as 20 percent of a teacher's evaluation will be tied to how much a student learns during a year.

Because the old tests are not measuring what is being taught, test scores are expected to go down next year — as they did this year.

So if the old tests aren't a good measure of student achievement and shouldn't be used to evaluate schools and teachers, some education leaders wonder why the old tests should be given.

California has decided to not test at all; other states have created interim tests.

"I would like to see states step up and say, "Wait a minute, is this really the right thing to do? Is it good to spend money on tests that aren't aligned and aren't going to give us the information we need?" said Betty Weller, president of the Maryland State Education Association. "We remain opposed to giving the MSA next year."

Both the union, which represents most teachers in Maryland, and the superintendents association have come out in favor of a one-year moratorium on testing.

"This transition and lack of reliable testing data from the state has created great concerns for local superintendents who are trying to maintain and convey confidence in the quality of education that Maryland students are receiving," said Michael J. Martirano, superintendent of St. Mary's County Public Schools, and president of the Public School Superintendents' Association of Maryland.

But Smith, at the state department of education, said he believes MSA testing could still be useful in illuminating potential problems in teaching certain groups of students, including special education students or those for whom English is not their first language.

Officials with the U.S. Department of Education also contend the MSAs would continue to yield valuable information.

"History shows that when we don't [give the tests] it's the performance of the most vulnerable students that gets swept under the rug," said Cameron French, deputy press secretary for the federal department. "Although it's not ideal to use the old test when you are transitioning to new standards, we do believe the data provides some use to parents, policy makers, teachers and educators where there are access issues and chronic low performance."

Several educators, including Baltimore County Superintendent Dallas Dance, said they would like to see more students take the new field test of the PARCC and that other tests routinely given by school systems during the year could be substituted to satisfy the federal requirement.

Dance said the misalignment between the new curriculum and the old tests is particularly difficult in math. Concepts that are tested in one grade on the MSA may now be taught in a different grade under the common core.

He will push to have more county students take the new test, but he also said the county does not have enough computers to give the test online to every student in elementary and middle school. The MSA is a paper and pencil test, but the state will eventually move all testing online.

Many states, caught in the same transition, are continuing to give the old tests, but New York and some other states have paid to create a new test to be given in the interim.

California's legislature voted last week to stop giving its state test for at least one year until a new curriculum and tests are in place. Gov. Jerry Brown has said he supports the legislation, which passed despite U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan's warning that he could take away federal funds from California. Federal funds represent about 10 percent of school budgets there.

Bob Schaeffer, public education director of Fair Test, an organization that is opposed to the extent of testing in public schools, said that children will not benefit from taking the MSA.

State officials "should stand up to Washington and say enough is enough," he said. "Lurching from one set of tests to another is going to make things worse and be disruptive in the short run."

Tribune Newspapers contributed to this story.

liz.bowie@baltsun.com

 www.theexperteducator.com
 

Parents: What to do when something goes wrong

Situations like those described in the attached article are specifically addressed in the book, Memoirs of A Teacher.  There is no need to fumble through the educational system uninformed.  Know exactly what to do when these types of situations occur.  Reserve your copy today at www.theexperteducator.com


Read Article
9-school-complaints-from-parents-what-you-should-do-when-something-goes-wrong


Please submit your questions, comments, suggestions via the contact  page at http://www.theexperteducator.com/#!contact/c1kcz