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Archive for the ‘School-Age Program’ Category

Sometimes You Have To Make the Best Out of Staffing Issues

Back in December 2011, my school age teacher (of 2 1/2 years of employment) decided to work closer to home and she gave me a 3-week resignation notice. I was quite disappointed, however, I understood why she needed to work closer to home.

The hunt was on for a new teacher! As I placed ads at the local college, on Craigslist, the Missouri Great Hires website and on our social media pages, I realized how tough it can be to find a quality School-age teacher.

In fact, it seems like when I need a preschool teacher, I get a flood of applicants. At least 2-3 days a week, I would get an applicant for the position, however, they were not the perfect match for the position.

As I write this post, I am still in search of a qualified and experienced school-age teacher. I have also decided to work with the youth in my After School program until the right teacher comes along.

I must say, that they are enjoying me, I am enjoying them and the parents love to see me in the classroom. I know that soon, my new teacher is coming and while I practice being patient, I am also mentoring and coaching my teachers as I work in the classroom in the afternoons.

Also, as I work in the classroom, I am thankful that I have youth development education and that I am able to step in when we are short staff. Moreover,  decided to give myself a pay increase and pay extra on bills during this season.

I shared this post with you to encourage you to find the positive in staffing issues and use it as an opportunity to do something great for your program. Moreover, instead of getting frustrated because you have to hire someone else, embrace the staff that you have, try to have a positive mindset about it and keep in mind that…This too shall pass!

Since I have been in the classroom, my school-age program has improved, the community in the classroom is more caring, I have more blog post ideas and I feel that I have prepared a great place for my new teacher.

If you have a large center, you may not be able to teach in the classroom, however, I suggest that you have floaters to assure that you are well staffed to assure adequate child-to staff ratio. My center is licensed for 40 children with an over lap of 53 children and I can be counted in the ratio in the state of Missouri.

Moreover, one thing that I have learned during this process is to never stop interviewing or advertising that you are hiring. There many applicants that would love to work in your program, however, it takes time to find the perfect person for your facility.

Keep this in mind when looking for new staff: Be Fast to Fire and Slow to Hire!

I look forward to your thoughts about this post. Feel free to share your feedback or post your comment.

Shiketa

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Category:

Employee Management, School-Age Program, Staffing

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5 Ways to Encourage Communication Skills in Your School-Age Program

It is vital that your environment for school children encourages communication. In fact, it is very important that your environment is filled with communication materials that enhances play and communication skills.

Children must be exposed to a variety materials that encourage them to communicate, such as: computers, a variety of newspapers, magazines,signs, language games, reference books and many other materials that will help them to learn communication skills.

Here are 5 ways to promote and build communication skills  in your school-age program:

1. Quiet Area–  Provide children with a quiet place to read, write or type on a computer. Be sure to stock the area with plenty of paper, notebooks, pens and pencils.

2. Dramatic Play- Adding markers and writing materials to the dramatic play are will enhance the play. Play themes that promote communication includes: patient sign-in sheets, message pads, appointment books, phones books,etc.

3. Block and Construction- Along with a variety of blocks, add road signs, blueprints, instructions for building homes or bridges. Also, add materials for making signs and maps.

4. Board Games and Tables- Arrange tables so that the children can gather in small groups and play games such as: Pictionary or Scrabble. Encourage the children to write down their own rules for playing the games.

5. Science Area– School-age children love to experiment with a variety materials. Be sure to encourage them to chart their findings and observations with poster board and markers.

As you began to add any of the items above, observe how the children experiment with the communication tools and ask open-ended questions about how they are using the materials. For example: How many rules do you think we need for the game area? Should have a dictionary near the game area?

Thanks for encouraging communication!

Shiketa

Category:

Curriculum, Quality Care, School-Age Program, Uncategorized

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