child care teacher

early childhood teacher

preschool teacher

child care center director

assistant teacher

Big Blue Marble Academy

While this company has phenomenal academic curriculum there aren't enough resources readily available to ensure smooth transitions throughout the day. This company is understaffed which results in combining classrooms and thus making it complicated to maintain structure in the classrooms. While working there I noticed employees being hassled about leaving early when not feeling well and handling family emergencies due to teacher-student ratio. While teacher-student ratio is paramount to ensuring the safety and well-being of students, teachers cannot provide adequate supervision or instruction when they are not feeling well. Leaders of the school (directors) appear to be understanding but will seemingly back you into a corner and make you feel bad for handling personal matters. I worked at this center for 4 weeks and never received training nor completed the orientation process that I was told to sign in the beginning of employment. Now, I understand as an adult to not sign things stating they are complete unless they are however, a date was set aside to begin orientation and it was never done. I have been working in the child services/ education industry for 4 years and I am fully aware of and acquire what it takes to work with children of all ages however, I understand the importance of support a new teacher must have in order to fulfill responsibilities. The staff I encountered are all exceptional and I would trust each of them with my child but they are not appreciated. My daughter attended the school during my tenure and I felt comfortable keeping her enrolled. I was texted on a Sunday night that they would no longer be able to accommodate her "since I did not work out my notice". I understand a two week notice is common curtesy when leaving a job however, it is not mandated by law and my daughter's enrollment should not be dependent upon my continuation of working there as we were in different classrooms and I was a paying parent. I was told that my daughter attending would place the center out of compliance with ratio and I discovered the next day (Monday) that it was not so- I arrived at the school to retrieve her belongings.

In summary, the potential I see in this school is obsolete because of the way my family was discriminated against when I decided working here was not the right fit for me.

A typical work day may include me walking into the program and finding that 4-6 staff members are not in attendance for the day.  Once this is known, acting on it and securing spaces for the enrolled children occurs next.  In between those actions and the many monitoring systems and checklists  in the program, there could be a virtual meeting with any number of the corporate chain members:  HR, Finance, Billing, Direct supervisors, etc.  
I learned that mid-sized child care organizations are not exactly for me.  It's the uncomfortable growth:  in a program that was falling apart when I walked through the door, I should have been made aware of any cap expenses that could impact  my budget as I entered.  That may be a first question for me in the future.  
Mangement style is a combination of micro and macro.  While both do have a place in business, excessive amounts of either can destroy a team.
The culture was shaky and unstable upon my entry.  Within 3 months, the shakiness was being curved and within month 6, we'd decrease daily absenteeism by more than 70%.  The hardest part of the job for me was my first couple days when I learned that I was getting a new manager, walking through the door.  That action caused me to view the organization in a different light immediately. There weren't many consistencies.  The organization as a whole seemed to operate in a constant state of crisis.  I most enjoyed my staff and team.  We all simply came in to get the job done... and go home each day.  

When I first began working at one of the afterschool sites, I loved everything about my job. The kids and my coworkers were great, but when there was a change in management, things went down hill. My new director was extremely submissive to the children and let them do as they pleased, which to anyone that has worked with children knows, that is a HUGE no-no. That is how chaos ensues. Which happened... every single day. Being told that "it's just aftercare and they don't need structure" got extremely old to me. Children need structure, period. There were days that teachers (who worked in the school) who happened to pass by in the hallway, stopped to help me restore order, even though the director was sitting right there. There were also issues with staffing, which I do not blame anyone for; teachers would start working, then quit the very next day, and the management could not do anything about that. Also, being the person who had been here the longest and never had any issues with the children or parents, I was never once offered a raise; yet I was present for conversations with higher management and other coworkers who had only been working for a couple of months and they were offered a raise, even though they were also making more than I was in the first place. Overall, the I loved each and every one of my students, even on the bad days. But, I was ultimately not paid enough for the ridiculous amount of stress that came with it.

The management is horrible and it’s very unorganized. I’ve been here for a year and I’ve never gotten a raise and yet I’m labeled as the “lead teacher” even though I applied for assistant teacher and have no desire to be the lead. They’ve managed to run off a few of my other teachers because they would change their schedules without telling them and make them work 10-12 hours with only 30 minute breaks. They love to come and take one of your teachers to put them in a completely different room and assume just because you are in ratio that you don’t need help meanwhile the kids are jumping off of all of the furniture and are allowed to come back day after day after harming other students. We can never go outside, the playground floods whenever it rains. Our kids (2 year olds) have to be shacked up in a room everyday for WEEKS , no extracurricular activities, nothing. Supplies is never given to do the curriculum. Also a lot of workers here that make different pays. Some get paid $13, some $14, some $15, some $16. It’s all over the place and as someone who comes to work faithfully it’s ridiculous. And if you’re sick they’ll still beg you to come in because they’re so short staffed. But on days when it’s slow they will still make you do the drive from your house just to send you back home not even 2 hours later. Childcare workers are greatly under appreciated.

What to expect when you first start: you will be thrown into a classroom with someone else, possibly also new, with little to no training. After only 2-3 days you will be left alone with almost max capacity kids all by yourself. 

Management is shady. The kids are decent. But the pay is not worth the amount of stress this job will put on your mind and your body; and that’s not even from the kids. Management does not appear to praise or value good work ethic, but they certainly make it a point to threaten write ups over the intercom every week about something someone did wrong. Even if you’re not the one doing anything wrong, you will still hear the threats for write ups and terminations on an “if you do what this person did” basis. 

Employees who do things the right way are simply a stable placeholder for whatever classroom they are in. 

Management is not consistent with rules for all employees. The company implements new rules each time something goes wrong within the company. As someone working there, I’ve heard at least 6 other people say they are unhappy here and looking for new work. 

This company is experiencing a staffing shortage because of unhappy employees. You may be required to work overtime wether you like it or not. Several people call out every other week and leave the “stable” employees stressed with kids moving in and out of classrooms and ratios being over for sometimes more than 15 minutes at a time. 

My typical day here was I’d be in my classroom 99% of the day. The weather had been up and down, we were denied to be able to go outside. The children’s behavior would be terrible as a result of not going outside. When help was requested from management it was not given or we would have to wait for almost an hour for someone to come in the classroom. Bathroom breaks would take a long time. On several occasions I would call and ask if I could go to the bathroom, no one would come even after me calling several times. The rules and things in the classrooms don’t make sense. The curriculum isn’t friendly or easy to do. It takes planning time that we don’t have in the classroom. And also if something more serious happens as long as it’s not anything legal, it appeared that the higher ups for this company did not care and pushed it aside. The hardest part of this job is probably the curriculum as well as the fact that you feel completely alone in this job with no help when it’s needed. Also if we needed something specific for our class in order to do art we would fill out a supply list for it and we would never get the supplies for it. The most enjoyable part for me personally was when my class would have a really good day, I loved teaching the kids, singing songs with them, and reading books for the kids.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working here has been amazing! The community is great, and the people you work with become like family. I have worked here for over a year now and  it truly is a great environment.  
You truly see all the staff working as hard as they can to teach the kids the knowledge they need to grow. From dance parties, to fun activities in the month, to planning curriculum every week;  Big blue marble Academy is amazing !

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The only negative thing I have to say is we are definitely understaffed. So days when there are alot of kids, it can get stressful from having to move teachers around. Management is doing there best to hire new people and make is less stressful as possible. It's just taking time.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is great! We have a good schedule to follow, great rules, and we make sureto deep clean out classrooms every afternoon and during nap time. 
It's a safe and clean place doe kids.
The staff here are all so fun to be around. We dance, sing, wipe faces,etc.- everything we do is to make sure the kids are loved on and taken care of.
Our curriculum is based on a different country every month. We also add in the ABC's , numbers , colors,etc. Teacheprep the curriculum every week and plan fun art projand activities for the kids.

There is no communication from management to employees as to what is expected for the day/week/month and teachers look stupid when parents ask about something we knew nothing about.  
Kids are being bumped up and down to stay in ratio because there are too many kids on the roster makes for a stressful day for both the teachers and the children as there is no consistency.
Breakfast/Lunch/Snack need to be more thought out. There is usually not enough for the children and/or is bare minimal (1/2 piece of Toast and cup of water for breakfast). 
Management needs to be thought over as well. The director is snippy/trash talks/rude when talking to and ABOUT other employees. Definitely needs to take a class on how to talk to people and how to take constructive criticism. 
Other members of management have a rude look/tone when talking with employees and she also thinks NOT talking to them is professional... She blatantly ignores them, will not address them. Very rude and unprofessional coming from someone in a management role. 
This place could be great, but the management needs to be turned over, menus need to be put in place WITH serving sizes, and communication needs to be open and CLEAR. 
The care for kids is fine, I have not witnessed any harm/abuse/neglect, but the management is not doing any good for these teachers, just more harm. 



I have been in the childcare world for over 10 years now and I will say it to this day it is by far THE HARDEST JOB ever!! Our parents put in so much trust with us when they drop off their most prized possession!! It is our goal to nurture these babies, give these babies love, teach these babies, give them back at the end of the day with more knowledge than what they came in with. Make sure that these babies are getting the proper care that they deserve, Always give them back better than when we receive them. Yes it is up to us to put in the work. Yes there are going to be hard days. Some of these children are single kids at home and do not know how to share or how to operate around other little people and it is our job to tech them. Childcare is not a career that you just stand and watch kids all day, you have to always beware of all of their surroundings 10 to 12 hours a day. Safety is our top priority. Childcare is a wonderful career to be in but you have to have the passion, you have to be able to be a team player, you have to come to work with positive vibes, you have to have love for not just the children but also this career path. Against any negative responses about this company I still put Big Blue Marble Academy above the top of the list because of our mission " To Nurture little minds and to Grow big hearts".

The company has no respect or confidence in the people they hire.  Everyone from the kitchen staff to the state-certified pre-k teachers, is treated like the children they serve. Some ridiculous rules that are a part of their work culture are- you are not allowed to bring your purse into the building. They give you a small clear baggy to put your personal items in. Walking to your room past parents with tampons and pads visible on your person is unnecessarily embarrassing, You must leave your phone and smartwatch in the director's office all day. You are STRONGLY discouraged from bringing your lunch.  They want you only to eat what the kids eat. If you do not want canned Sam's Club green beans with overcooked noodles and seasonless marinara sauce  3 days a week too bad. If you insist on exercising your right as an adult to bring your lunch, they must find you coverage so you can shove it down within 15 minutes in some tucked-away corner.  You must wear a uniform that you pay for yourself, each shirt is $20 each. Everyone there absolutely hates this company and is constantly looking for another job. The only reason you should work here is if you were facing immediate homelessness. Then get out of there as soon as you are able. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Child care teacher 9 salaries reported	$15.25 per hour
Early childhood teacher 4 salaries reported	$14.94 per hour
Preschool teacher 6 salaries reported	$15.83 per hour
Child care center director 1 salary reported	$55,000 per year
Assistant teacher 2 salaries reported	$13.50 per hour

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