There is no doubt about it. The pandemic has worn the teaching profession a bit fine. According to a survey from the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, long work hours coupled with the difficulty of separating work from home life has reduced job satisfaction by over 15%.

Managing an afterschool program is a complex undertaking that is made simpler by following a few tips and using the right software to simplify scheduling.

Afterschool programs are an essential component of the overall childcare environment. Often preschools and daycares accept only very young children. However, older children and adolescents require nurturing and direction, just like toddlers and preschoolers.

Over half of childcare providers reported losing money by staying open during the pandemic. Just under half reported taking on debt using a personal credit card to pay for supplies and other necessities. 

Before the pandemic, the bus was considered a safe option for transporting children to childcare. After the pandemic, carpooling seems less risky. According to a Cars.com survey taken between July 22, 2020, and August 4, 2020, nearly half of respondents said their kids took the bus before the pandemic. After COVID-19 came on the scene, it dropped to slightly less than a third. Carpooling, on the other hand, increased from nine percent to 11 percent.

Many parents struggle to pay for childcare. It has long been a cliche that parents need childcare so they can work. Yet, a substantial part of earnings is spent on that very childcare — up to 10 percent or more of the average parent's household income. 

In a perfect world, nothing would ever happen to the children you care for. Parents would drop them off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon while the kids had a peaceful, educational day.

Administrative tasks are often repetitive and time-consuming. A study found that 22% of an employee's time is spent on repetitive tasks. They add little value and can be the source of errors. The easier they are to perform, the more time your staff has for the important things in business — your customers.

Retaining great staff requires motivation from the top. Make your staff feel like you care about them, and they will stick with you through thick and thin.

Parents are trusting you with a precious family member who will be going through many milestones and changes that the parents won't see. They want to know that you are ready to take care of everything and able to help them relive some of those experiences.

Many childcare facilities relied on printed rosters, binders, and other manual methods of keeping attendance in the past. These days, when social distancing is required and cleanliness has reached new heights, the old ways won't work.