🫶 Staff Retention - What Really is Culture!?

Today’s Issue: Falling Down Hills Chasing Cheese, Staffing Leadership, Parent Engagement, ECE News, = 1 cup of coffee.

How Much Do You Like Cheese?: I bet not as much as these folks! These daring cheese fans are willing to chase a 7-pound cheese wheel of (click the link for some crazy photos!) Double Gloucester down a steep 200-yard pitch. Enduring pain, injury and just downright craziness, this annual event in England just wrapped up and drew a crowd of thousands and the male winner flew in all the way from Germany! I mean, does it even go on pizza? No thanks…

New Guest Writer - Insights to Staff Retention

We are excited to welcome Jaime Rechkemmer to provide some thoughts on a key industry challenge - staff retention.

With nearly 30 years in the field, Jaime Rechkemmer has led education, operations, and quality improvement at some of the nation’s largest childcare organizations. From enrollment growth and staff retention to QRIS success and licensing compliance, she helps programs move from surviving to thriving with a mix of strategy, systems thinking, and deep operational insight.

Retention Isn’t Rocket Science—It’s Just Real Leadership

By Jaime Rechkemmer

Let’s get one thing out of the way: compensation matters. Living wages are the floor, not the ceiling. But if you’ve ever watched a rockstar teacher walk out even after a raise—or laid awake wondering why your most loyal trainer just quit—you already know: money alone doesn’t make people stay. And if you’ve done all you can with your budget, you’re probably asking, what else can I do?

Here’s the hard truth: people don’t leave because they’re tired. They leave because they’re tired and no one noticed. Retention doesn’t hinge on pizza parties or gift cards (though hey, I love a little pepperoni morale boost). But you can’t expect educators to hang on for a 10-year pin while they feel invisible the rest of the time. In early childhood, people stick around when they feel respected, supported, and remembered—on purpose.

1. Culture Isn’t a Poster. It’s Practice.

We slap “We’re a family!” on the break room wall, then fail to check in on the teacher who just lost her grandmother. We call someone a “lifesaver” for covering a shift, but never ask what part of their role actually gives them life.

👉👉👉  Keep reading Jaime’s awesome article HERE!

📲 📲 Swipe Into Parent Engagement (And Yes, It Involves Their Phones)

Let’s be honest — parents are glued to their phones. Don’t believe it? The average American checks their phone 144 times a day! 😳 That’s once every 10 minutes. It’s no wonder toddlers have better swipe skills than some grandparents.

For childcare centers, this isn’t a problem — it’s an opportunity.

Parent engagement tools (think messaging apps, digital daily reports, and photo-sharing platforms) are game-changers for building trust, improving communication, and making those sometimes-chaotic drop-offs and pickups a little smoother. Instead of relying on crumpled notes in diaper bags or trying to remember to mention that epic finger painting moment at pickup, centers can instantly share updates, photos, and reminders right to parents’ devices.

And parents love it! 92% of millennial parents say they want real-time updates about their child’s day. When centers use engagement tools, parents feel connected, informed, and reassured — especially those first-time parents who need a little extra hand-holding (we’ve all been there).

It’s also good for business. Centers with strong parent communication see the following:

• Higher satisfaction scores

• Improved retention

• Stronger sense of connection

When parents feel part of the daily adventure — from potty training wins to hilarious snack time faces — they’re more likely to recommend your program and stick around.

So, if your parents are already checking their phones over 100 times a day, why not make one of those moments a smiling picture of their kid covered in paint? It’s a simple, fun way to build trust, boost enrollment, and show families you’re invested in their little ones, one adorable update at a time.

Bottom line: embrace the scroll. Parent engagement tools aren’t just a nice-to-have — they’re your secret weapon for happier families and a thriving center.

ECE in the News:

🚜 Construction is officially underway on a $19 million community childcare education center in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. This huge project is designed to help relieve “childcare deserts” and provide access to much needed care. That’s a hefty investment but for a worthy cause.

💸 San Fransisco Gives Huge Pay Boost to ECE Teachers: The 50% pay bump was part of a San Francisco initiative to pay its early childhood educators substantially more money, raising wages for more than 2,000 educators, many of them by an average of more than $12,000 a year! Now other cities in California, like Los Angeles, are seeing if this something that can help their educators. Let’s go!

The Internet is a Playground:

🗓️ On this Day in History: On June 3, 1965, 120 miles above the Earth, Major Edward H. White II stepped out of the capsule, becoming the first American astronaut to walk in space. Let’s say the Soviets didn’t like. 🧑🏻‍🚀 🇺🇸

📻 That’s cool: Want free online radio stations for your center? Mix up the tunes!

📐 Haha: Wanted to know how tall a celebrity may be? I didn’t before, but am now curious… here you go.

🐑 Aww Besties: Keeping with cute sheep doing zoomies.

Sources:

• $19M Construction

• SF Pay Raises

YOUR VOICE COUNTS

Is there a topic you want more info on or want to share a funny story? Then let us know! Shoot us a quick email at [email protected]. This newsletter is for you, and well, you should have a say, don't’ you think?

Sources:

• $19M Construction

• SF Pay Raises