GREENSBORO, N.C. — Childcare centers in the Triad say they are having trouble finding qualified staff and it's affecting the services they can offer to families.
“It’s been really tough, really tough," said Margie Johnson, the owner and director of Johnson's Daycare in Greensboro. "Me, as a director, having to do my work but now I have a classroom because of the short staff so that’s kind of hard.”
According to the North Carolina Early Education Coalition, the average pay for a North Carolina early education teacher is $10.50. The job also typically requires at least an associate's degree. Child care advocates and center directors say higher pay is needed.
“It’s impossible to find someone to work for 10.50 an hour with a degree and a very difficult job which requires skills and training," said Jenna Nelson, the executive director of the North Carolina Early Education Coalition. “We are advocating for state-wide wages, which is a wage supplement program, and we would like to see that the legislature invest, giving that wage supplement to early educators, regardless of county, to keep them in the field and attract new folks in the field.”
Benefits also factor into the issue. Nelson said one in four early education teachers have health benefits.
“The bottom line is that pay and benefits really need to equal what public school teachers make as many of our teachers do have four-year degrees or they work toward achieving four-year degrees and then they move over to the public schools," said Nelson. "So we really need public investment and caring for our youngest children.”
Sheryl Smith, the center director of Sunshine House Early Learning Academy, says they are working on more incentives and higher pay to hire and keep staff, but it goes beyond just Sunshine House.
“We are trying to get there, but it takes (...) a village to do that and in order for us to do that, everybody has to do their part, whether (it's) state and federal government funding (or) whether it’s the colleges trying to partner (with us)," said Smith.
Smith said she's seen the impact staffing shortages can have on families.
"Parents have had to quit their jobs because, of course, in order for us to stay open we have to raise (our tuition)," said Smith. "So there are times when the child care centers have to stay afloat as well.”
As the pandemic continues, both Smith and Johnson say they've had either staff or families leave their centers. But now that families are coming back, some staff is not.
"Now parents are going back to work and they need good quality childcare but then it’s almost like a catch 22: they are going back to work but they don’t have childcare availability," said Johnson.