“I’ve been a resident of Superior for 23 years and have been a teacher for 18 of those years (with occasional detours into other jobs along the way) But teaching has been the only job I’ve had thus far that I don’t mind getting out of bed in the morning to do. There are many things about teaching that I’ve enjoyed, but if I had to choose a favorite, it’s seeing the children learn and grow as people, from reaching milestones in learning to their ABCs to learning to say please and thank you. Knowing that you’ve played a part in that is rewarding. 

The pandemic has had a major impact on the center. Many of my coworkers left, and as a result our enrollment dropped… As the pandemic wore on the applicant pool dried up, the people that did apply didn’t show up for interviews… As a result it was decided that keeping the doors open wouldn’t be sustainable, and the final day of daycare is June 10.

Access to affordable daycare is a major problem in our area, our center isn’t the only one that has issues with staffing, and it seems to me that it will continue to be an issue… in our current economy it is almost essential for households to have more than one person providing income for their family just to make ends meet. The other part of the issue is that pay for providers isn’t the greatest, which makes it difficult to attract new people into childcare.

Personally, the upcoming closure has forced me to look for new employment, and not necessarily in the daycare industry. The changes have been difficult, I’ve had many families ask me what my plans are after my time at daycare is done, and I really don’t know what to say.

The parents have been forced to look for alternative care for their children, and many of the families have decided to keep their children at the center until the door closes for the last time. Thankfully the Director has done a great job helping our families find alternative care, and as of now most of the families have found care at other centers when their time is up.”