Managing Staff Attendance and Disciplinary Issues in Childcare: A Director’s Practical Guide Let’s be honest — running a childcare center is a beautiful kind of chaos. One minute you’re wiping a runny nose, the next you’re chasing down a permission slip, and somewhere in between you’re trying to figure out why Miss Jenna called out again this Friday. Sound familiar? read more.

Can You Afford a Wage Increase? A Feasibility Framework for Childcare Centers Wage pressure on childcare centers has never been higher. New Mexico’s ECECD now ties enhanced reimbursement rates to entry-level wages of $16 to $19 per hour. Washington DC requires Living Wage compliance at $17.95 per hour and pays out from a Pay Equity Fund that benchmarks educator salaries read more.

Why Profit First Doesn’t Work for Childcare Centers (and the Simpler System That Does) If you have read Mike Michalowicz’s Profit First and tried to apply it to your childcare center, you almost certainly hit a wall. The promise is compelling: open multiple bank accounts, transfer fixed percentages of revenue into each, then run your operating expenses out of the read more.

How Part-Time Enrollment Is Quietly Destroying Your Childcare Center’s Profitability Most childcare center owners we work with believe they have an enrollment problem. They are hustling for tours, running ads, sending newsletters, and trying to fill every empty seat. The numbers on paper say it is working — enrollment is growing, the headcount looks healthy, and parents seem happy. Then read more.

Are Infant Rooms Actually Profitable? The Classroom-Level Economics Most Childcare Owners Miss If you operate a childcare center with an infant room, you have probably done the math on a Sunday night and walked away frustrated. The tuition is your highest. The staffing requirement is your most expensive. Supplies, square footage, and licensing requirements are all stacked against you. And read more.

Low-Cost Employee Perks That Help You Keep Great Childcare Staff You can absolutely boost staff retention with low-cost or even no-cost perks that feel genuinely valuable to your team. Let’s walk through ideas that work well in early childhood settings without blowing your budget. Start With “Human” Benefits, Not Expensive Ones Most early educators stay for relationships, respect, and stability, read more.

Fun Recycled Sculpture Projects for Your Childcare Center Recycled materials sculpture projects are budget‑friendly, hands‑on, and naturally invite open‑ended play. Children practice problem‑solving as they figure out how to balance, stack, and connect unusual shapes. You also get to model caring for the environment by reusing materials instead of throwing them away. Easy project ideas that actually work Here are read more.

The Revenue Your Enrollment Numbers Are Lying About One of our advisory clients was confident they were collecting $187,000 per month. When we reconciled their enrollment report to actual bank deposits, they were only bringing in $157,000. That is a $30,000 monthly gap — $360,000 a year — hiding in plain sight. Another center we work with showed $150,000 in read more.