Staffing, Classrooms Update

Hello everyone,

 

I wanted to give you all an update on what staffing is looking like for the fall semester, along with a link to a gofundme fundraiser I have started. 

As you may have noticed, we have low numbers in each of our classrooms. This is great for social distancing, cleaning, and deepening relationships with the kiddos even further. However, it does mean we are also experiencing some trouble financially, particularly with our infant room. Understandably so, many families are waiting to bring their smallest children to school during this time of uncertainty. 

As a result, JHIP does not currently have any infants enrolled, meaning we are temporarily closing the infant room. This then leaves the problem of having extra teachers for a room that will likely be closed until October or January. I gathered all of our lead teachers together to discuss this matter and what routes we could take to help fix this temporary issue. 

Selflessly, graciously - Lillie Padget of Bumblebees and David Thrasher of our incoming infants volunteered to be furloughed until enrollment ticks back up. I am humbled by their sacrifice and love for our program and coworkers, and have no words to express how indebted I am to them for making this incredibly difficult decision. Ownership has promised to help them each step of the way through unemployment until they are able to join us again. 

This decision was forced on us quickly, and we have to take quick action. David and Lillie's last day (temporarily) will be this Friday. I so apologize for the sudden notice. Vanessa will be stepping in Lillie's spot until she is able to return. We will be converting the one year old room into a mixed age class with infants, in hopes we can get 3 infants on board and then later in the semester have enough enrolled to reopen the infant room entirely, at which point David and Lillie would join us again in their original positions. 

I have started a gofundme (https://gf.me/u/ymsbcs) intended to help alleviate some of the revenue loss in July, continue to support our payroll, and hopefully direct some funds to Lillie and David. Please do not in any way feel pressured to donate to this fundraiser. Just sharing the link is incredibly helpful. We already have over $500 in donations, to which we are extraordinarily grateful. The love from people sharing this link around the community has been so moving. I want to disclose that JHIP is not a non-profit organization, so donations are not tax deductible – Mike of ownership is looking into different routes we can take with this. 

We are expecting to have a bit of a bumpy fall semester financially, but able to come out on the other side in January. We are all here for you, and each one of you are so important to us.

 

Stay healthy and well.