As a former employee at Kindercare, I must express my dismay at how this company is run at the corporate level. I enjoyed my former job and loved my co-workers, including the center and assistant directors. I need to voice that for-profit corporations and the business of taking care of children is not a very good combination.
These directors are placed under a huge amount of stress by keeping their enrollment numbers high at the expense of the teachers in their employ. Often there are not enough teachers to cover basic needs such as lunch breaks. I worked an 8 hour shift for months without being given a regular break. When there was enough staff, I would then receive a brief break. Having inadequate staffing also led to many classrooms being over their ratio numbers in multiple classrooms.
It was not unusual for an infant teacher to have a few toddlers in the classroom for part of the day. This was also repeated for the toddler and the two year-old classrooms. I clearly remember the stress, discomfort and frustration my center director experienced in having to make daily decisions in who could get a break or which classes had to "bump" their students up or down by age group.
I worked for Kindercare multiple years and my only "raise" or wage increase during that time was less than a dime an hour. I left the company due to burnout and stress. A Kindercare employee seen at the corporate level is just a number, and treated as such. I am expendable, cheap labor that can easily be replaced. This corporation puts their bottom line at the expense of their employees and the well-being of the children placed in these daycare centers.
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