Amid COVID-19, staffing woes plague childcare centers - Commonwealth Magazine
By Shira Schoenberg
Between its six large childcare centers in Boston and Cambridge, Nurtury Early Education has had to shutter eight classrooms during the pandemic – which translates to serving around 70 fewer children.
While center enrollment is down, the problem isn’t just a lack of interest from families – it is a lack of staff. Of the approximately 100 classroom teachers that Nurtury employed pre-pandemic, 16 have left since March, and 10 remain on leave or furlough. There are about 30 vacancies systemwide.
“We were already worried about sufficient staffing before the pandemic,” said Nurtury president and CEO Laura Perille. “With additional pandemic challenges, we’re worried we’ll lose people to the childcare sector permanently. And when enrollment rebounds in the spring, childcare’s going to be in a world of hurt because we don’t have the pipeline at the ready.”
The pandemic has focused attention to the importance of childcare, as parents struggle to work with young children at home. But it also highlighted the long-standing problem of retaining a workforce of quality childcare providers – a problem that has become far worse as many childcare workers have been forced to stay home, due to their own health concerns or childcare woes. The impact can trickle down to families as centers are forced to shut classrooms, reduce hours, and shuffle teachers around.