What a coincident that this week’s blog topic is about financing a childcare program and budget of a childcare program and what is going on in the Early Childhood arena with the state and Child Care Connection. We just had a Rainbow School meeting about the plan of action and what it will look like if this proposal will pass. Everyone is having a hard time especially with the holidays but one thing we discussed in our meeting was what will be the outcome of the significant increase in families’ co-shares. It became a reality when I had to fill out the survey from PATCH and GBA when they asked us how many children we have in our program will leave if this proposal is implemented and at what amount of children that leave will we have to lay off staff, close a classroom or close the school. The hardest part is being the director and staff that work with these families daily and know them on a personal level. These children need the socialization, structure and all the benefits of early childhood and how much they will miss out if they have to pull their child out.

I really enjoyed the marketing chapter in the book. I remember when I first started working at Rainbow School, the physical aspect of our school was highly stressed. We would have meetings about how we think our school should look like, feel like, smell like, and what do we think parents want to see when they walk in. I remember giving my first tour to a dad and he said “Man, this place smells like a preschool, it’s bringing me back to my childhood.” At first, I didn’t know what that meant or how to take it, especially since I guess I don’t know what a preschool smells like, but after reading that chapter, I realized now that he was giving our school a compliment. Now that I’m a director, I am always reminding my staff and emphasizing how important it is to make a good impression with incoming families and to keep those good relationships with families, because that’s the best marketing a preschool can have – especially in Hawaii.