assistant teacher

lead teacher

child care teacher

bus driver

child care center cook

Childcare Network

I believe the corporate support team has way too much turnover. Therefore when you get one leaders vision and mission and all the changes they want to make to fix things that are not broken instead of focusing on what really matters you get a new set of corporate officers with completely different goals and priorities that have you go back to the old ways.  There is hardly any support from corporate leadership. Micromanagement is how they support the school Directors.  They push for accreditation, fundraisers, and increases to tuition however none of that goes back to the employees the teachers that educate and care for the children are underpaid overworked and the demands of corporate zoom calls or call back nights to gain enrollment yet you don’t have the staff to actually accept the families on the waiting list is a problem because that takes two inconvenient hours out of your day and by inconvenient I mean the last two hours of business hours on the phone you have to set there with camera on and update electronic waiting list while someone watches you or you have to send pictures to corporate to prove you did it is ridiculous. 

Fundraising all the proceeds never went to the schools it only goes to overpriced director conference which by the way are networking/social events and seminars that will be repeated via zoom trngs for the next year.

Accreditation gets you nothing they will let you staff and put on a pony show for validation but after you receive it nothing the quality that it takes to achieve that accreditation goes out the window with minimal staffing and lack of support from upper leadership. 

The fact that we increase tuition and tell the parents are getting pay increases yet I was unable to give anyone a raise in the last two years to anyone even the ones that had been there 20+ years… that’s sad

I will say the school that I was over has an amazing core group not once did we shut down for Covid as we followed the guidelines as far as exclusion and cleanliness in addition to safety was made possible by the amazing teachers that the school has.

Any grants that the schools received was not spent by the schools but by corporate the only grants that the school saw was when it was specifically stated that you have to do this with the money received with a specific vender and specific amount. Other than that we didn’t see anything and sometimes didn’t even know corporate received money. 

The work life balance is horrible and like I previously stated corporate leadership always changing is extremely exhausting.  

I could write a book on my experience leading a school with hardly any help from upper leadership actually it’s management (micro) because of the lack of leading only micromanaging what each school does.

There is no incentive to have a great school from corporate. 

The incentive comes from each schools culture and dedication to the family and children we serve.  All teachers are under paid and overwhelmed and it’s in my opinion that early childhood educators are disappointingly underpaid and maxed out. Like 15 three year olds to one adult getting paid barely over minimum wage for a very expensive area to live in is sad.  I actually had one leader that said if they need more money go get another job. Your pay is what makes you want to work in the industry well I firmly believe and have stated that loving what we do isn’t going to pay the bills or basic living necessities for just themselves forget about a family but just yourself.

I will leave on this one last thing I loved my school level core team and my children and families along with just a handful of local support team members.  I am grateful to have had a great six years at that school however I will not miss the corporate aspect of it for the fact they expect cookie cutter standards for 300 schools across the nation and each state has their own guidelines as well as the coalition, accreditation guidelines, and pre-k guidelines.  It’s far few and in between to hear you’re doing great what can I take off your plate.  Instead it’s the exact opposite you only hear when you’ve messed up but you ask for the proper way that specific person which you’ve only met maybe once wants it done there is no support just crickets.  It’s just sad that is not what I signed up for I was sold a lie when accepting employment and opportunities in leading a school.  It’s a dog and pony show filled with empty promises. Being the puppet and being responsible for letting families know about increases, staff not getting pay increases, to being treated like garbage from vendors and corporate policy changes.  When there are so many contradictory changes it becomes an issue as it looks as if school directors don’t know what they are doing.  

Here is to hoping someone from corporate level sees this and makes some positive changes for the school level teams 

What is the best part of working at the company?
I loved my job and my job loved me! I enjoyed the long term relationships I’ve built with the children, parents, coworkers and past administrators. My favorite activity is the family garden project that I started with our families the past two years. Great way to engage with each-other. Also our annual fall festival so much fun ! 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
My issue with this job is the support system for the building. The lack of communication between current administrator with staff and parents are the reason this company will have continuous turnover rates with teachers and enrollment. Instead of over looking what is brought to their attention it should be taken serious the first time. Also micro managing people that have no prior issue with work performance is so unnecessary especially when the building has been running smoothly before new administration started. Also administration taking accountability or being held accountable. District managers have an issue with do so. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The environment became stressful due to short staff and people quitting or being terminated from the job. The director was not supportive as they portrayed to be to outsiders. Everything was not under control and as an education coordinator it felt bad like the company was failing and not just because of one person but the building as a whole. Because of the lack of support was overlooked by the outside company staff. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Busy day. Education coordinator and school age teacher. I drove the bus before/after school,  conducted observations, covered bathroom/lunch breaks and filled in for teachers that were absent or late arrival. Pass out lesson plans/ curriculum materials. Create curriculum orders and any extra tasks that administrators ask like tours, take tuition payments etc.

A typical day at work for me was arriving at 7 am sharp opening up my class room and having around 8 children from the range of 18 months to four years old. While for the first 15/ 30 minutes were normally fine, after that it went to chaos. I would get absolutely pounded with children, at one point and time I had 20 children from the ages of 18 months to 3 years old and it was just me in the room. The management were slow at helping me get back to the correct ratio. By the time it got to 9 am I was finally at the ratio that is legal. Maybe 10 children were actively mine at the time. Also by 10 am I was already on break until most days about 1:30 pm. It was completely unenjoyable. I was then there until about 6/6:30 pm. They took my whole day from me M-F. Ive learned how to try and keep a classroom manageable for kids and how to try to keep it from looking like a complete disaster. And if it was a disaster the manager would go in and completely lose their mind at the teacher in charge. And barely help guide the children to clean up. The work place as long as you dont make any bad sides is an amazing environment. But if you do end up on the wrong side of someone they will act the fakest to your face then behind your back they will talk the upmost negatively about you. The hardest part about the job is simply the management. It is absolutely true that they have their favorites and will balance the work life in their favor. I worked their for more than a year and the things that i have seen were atrocious. Although ive made lifelong friends and true connections with my kids and their parents i would not recommend you work their even for a day. Like i said, they will truly fake everything to make it seem like the place is where you want to be, even for parents looking to leave their children. They will do anything to hire teachers but do nothing to keep them. They will also talk behind parents back the second they leave the building. 

Disorganized in some aspects. Very little training is provided before you are thrown into a classroom. It felt like they pretty much tell you whatever to get you in the door in the interview and I quickly saw this. Understaffed, which lead to being overworked. Cleaning a classroom and bathroom on top of looking after a class was too much for one person and too much for what I was being paid. Kids will be kids, so this I expected. My typical day was busy. The hours were longer, which began to conflict with a family matter I was dealing with outside of work. Not knowing when I was going to get off on any given day was simply frustrating. No serious issues with the staff. I just learned that working in these places there will be a toxic environment and you kinda just accept it and move on. There was also some questionable things in terms of treatment of the children. One good thing I can say is that ALMOST all of the parents were respectful and so kind to me which I was so thankful for. Overall there was simply no consideration for the fact that employees have a life going on outside of work. Their only concern is making sure you’re in that classroom. Money takes priority over the kids which is the saddest part because it should be the other way around. If you’re going to view kids as dollar signs you probably shouldn’t be in the business of childcare in the first place. You can earn a lousy paycheck anywhere. People’s children deserve great care and nothing less. And if you don’t care about your employees, why should they care about you? In the end I decided to put my family and mental health first. When either of those is being impacted it’s time to leave. I simply got tired of putting on a happy face to go into a place where I felt like my work wasn’t valued and left. Waste of time 

If you value and follow through with any of the following: 
Notify management of changes in your class/life schedule, show up to work and from lunches on time, clock in and out at scheduled times, take good care of the children in your care and classroom, help wherever needed,  have good classroom and time management skills, know at least the basics of childcare, attend and pay for training as needed and communicate with management

You will enjoy your time working with this company. 

I worked for the company for over 5 years. During that time management was supportive and very selective of who they accepted into a managerial or higher position and who they hired for each classroom. Hiring employees was like a revolving door for most but hired and accepting of mothers with children and students as employees. They work with student schedules as long as you are a good employees

I will say, from my own experience, because of the pay, COVID restrictions, lack of employees and increase in expectation, unprofessional staff and management, poor classroom management and more, this job can feel unfulfilling and exhausting at times depending on the center. 

If i could recommend something to new and potential hires: 
Preparing for the interview and ask questions is important 
Give it about 1 week to 1 month to allow the children to adjust to you and to decide if the classroom you are placed in and workload is manageable for you
Talk to supervisors b/c they cant fix what you don't express
Be on the time always b/c the children need you  
Take health, safety, security and overall well being of your children seriously always and make it your # 1 priority.  


A typical day at CCN is coming in at 9. Speak to the floater to confirm about the status of diaper change and breakfast, and if its been inserted into the tablet . Then  I proceed to play with the kids in free time, We talk and learn about our toys in the room we can also engage in curriculum activities , We drift into storytime after we pick up our toys.  On rainy days will have an art or craft project to do, Otherwise we go outside for 30 minutes. After outside/art play, Washing hands and diapers are changed. We Play and sing as we keep our room tidy because lunch will be here soon. When lunch arrive we proceed to wash hands and sit down for lunch, while practicing please and thank you. After all friends are done eating we proceed to wash up and sit on the carpet for a bed time story. When story time ends I get cots out and pass out blankets. Nap last approximately 2 hours. As the Children wake up they get their diapers changed and their beds and blankets put up. Once everyone is awake we have 15 mins of music activities time, snack will then arrive. we wash hands and eat snack. After snack we wash hands and then get ready to go outside at 330 we stay outside till 4. upon returning to the classroom, diapers must be changed. Then we can engage in another circle time, After circle time we engage in free play and curriculum activities again. the closer it gets to 530 I began to pick up and encourage the children who are still there to clean up. I spray the toys with disinfectant vacuum and sweep the floors I return the tablet and take my empty bottles to the front then I proceed to take out the trash. Turn the lights out and lock the outside door.clock out.

I love working with the kids. However, management is messy. You have administration constantly going in changing your hours, yet when it's your time to leave for the day they don't send anyone in to relieve you so you end up staying late by thirty minutes a few times a week without getting paid for it and you can't just walk out the classroom with a bunch of students unattended. Reliable workers get yelled at for being a few minutes late, but there are several people who constantly call out and nothing is said to them because it's already "expected" of them, so on the off chance that you do call out or are late, they are going to let you have it but remember the unreliable workers don't get the same treatment. Administration is messy and dramatic, constantly sitting in the main office gossiping about others. Will also pull teachers from their classrooms to do THEIR work while they do nothing. New hires off the street are now being paid more than workers who have been there for two years. They don't give raises either but remember someone with less qualifications than you can be making 4 dollars more than you do than workers who have been there for 2 years. You get berated if you need something for your classroom, like paper towels as if the money is coming directly out of managements pockets so teachers are now buying their own supplies for their classrooms. They'll steal your hours, underpay you, overwork you, stress you out. It isn't worth the pay or stress. So many people are ready to leave this. This is why they have such a high turnover rate.

I worked back at Childcare Network in Watauga for about a month. Everything was thrown at me all at once, and I did not get proper training I believe I could get. It was very overwhelming being put into situations which made me worry. After issuing this problem, I was moved to a "floater" going around to classrooms watching their kids until the teachers break would end. I was very scared to work with infants, but I found out that was one of my favorite rooms to be in. Although I had little idea on how to do things regarding babies, the two girls I typically worked with were super helpful and fun to work with.

Communication is also an issue I believe when working here. I don't feel like a lot of people communicated with me, since I was usually put in rooms by myself except for the infant room. Director and Assistant Director can be nice, but I was treated unfairly for being sick at work. When I asked permission to leave early, I was given the "ok" to leave. I ended up getting a doctors note due to being sick for a long period of time, but I called and let them know my situation, and also went in one day to ask the Director if this was okay, and she said as long as I brought the doctors note I would be fine. Long story short, after I started getting better, I brought in my doctors note ready to work, and was told that I had walked out on my job. I asked how I could come back, but they basically shut me out after trying to work with them again. 

I really loved this job when I first started out and it was also my first teaching job. I had two different directors and AD’s during my year and a half here and they were nothing but wonderful. Cared about their employees and the students and I could tell they were tricked into this job just like me. The job is great at the center level, however corporate and higher ups are destroying this company. They led me, my bosses, and fellow coworkers on with raises. Promised raises and new amenities to the school if we did what they asked and jumped through their hoops. Nothing but empty promises as we went above and beyond for this company only to be let down time and time again. Worked overtime everyday for months because of low staff and crowded classrooms. I was out of ratio many days because there was quite literally nobody to help and corporate wanted all classrooms fully enrolled, even though they knew there was not enough staff to cover high numbers. Very little training for teachers and directors so lots of mistakes happening on all levels. Corporate only took care of the hire ups & left teachers and directors with nothing. Would promise to show up for training and to help and would never show. This entire company is a joke and it’s really sad because it could’ve been great. I was promised a raise for 8 months and did not receive it until they found out I had a foot out the door, which still did not meet the wage they promised. Overall, I would’ve stayed at this job if the people running the operation weren’t a joke. 

Childcare Network is the kind of center based program in which  administration takes on the bulk of the responsibility related to the classroom arrangement, routines, wall display, and the materials to use within the learning environment. The schedule and the curriculum is set by administration. Also, the lesson plans and activities to be used are primarily set up with little of room for the teacher's input. Therefore, it is required that most other changes the teacher may see necessary to implement to meet the needs of all the children in the group, and according to the level of competency acquired the teacher, would need to gain the permission of administration. In contrast to most other programs that I have been employed (5 in all, over 12+ years), Childcare Network Inc. is the first I've encountered in which administration is highly involved.

As a lead teacher accustomed to working for centers in which plenty of room is allowed for relatively independent decisions and plans to be made in accordance to the teacher's level of competence, I found the adjustment to be challenging at first, not previously prepped to follow a relatively new approach to childcare. Anyone seeking to be employed at Childcare Network Inc. with a similar work history  should expect to yield some responsibilities related to the items mentioned above, and work in a more systematically managed way of carrying out your duties.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Assistant teacher 284 salaries reported	$12.38 per hour
Lead teacher 248 salaries reported	$13.85 per hour
Child care teacher 214 salaries reported	$15.07 per hour
Bus driver 82 salaries reported	$12.77 per hour
Child care center cook 59 salaries reported	$12.91 per hour

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