May 9, 2025 • 53 mins
Mr. Ty, the Childcare Whisperer, has the answers to your child care questions! Among the questions he answers in this podcast:
How can you encourage middle management to not be friends or overly friendly, causing a divide between teachers?
How can I encourage staff to take initiative and feel empowered in their roles while maintaining consistency in classroom practices?
As a new owner taking over a center that has a tarnished reputation and frustrated staff, how can I get community and staff buy-in?
What kind of incentives can I give staff that might be low cost, like a jeans day or an extra planning block? (Mr. Ty says don't do either and send staff home early when they need it!)
Listen in as Mr. Ty answers more questions that you need to know to run a successful child care business!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to the Child Care Business Podcast, brought
to you by ProCare Solutions.
This podcast is all about givingchildcare, preschool, daycare,
afterschool, and other earlyeducation professionals a fun
(00:22):
and upbeat way to learn aboutstrategies and inspiration you
can use to thrive.
You'll hear from a variety ofchildcare thought leaders,
including educators, owners, andindustry experts on ways to
innovate to meet the needs ofthe children you serve.
From practical tips for managingoperations to uplifting stories
of transformation and triumph,this podcast will be chock full
(00:45):
of insights you can use to fullyrealize the potential of your
childcare business.
Let's jump in.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
Hello, everyone, and welcome to our newest episode of
the Child Care Business Podcast.
My name is Leah Woodbury.
I'm the head of content here atProCare Solutions.
This podcast is going to sound alittle bit different than some
that you might be used to.
We recently hosted an InstagramLive with Mr.
Tai, the Child Care Whisperer,and he's the president of the
(01:16):
Child Care Agency.
He's a popular motivationalkeynote speaker.
He's an early childhoodeducation teams coach.
And he has worked in ECE formany, many years.
So what we did was we tookquestions that we had left from
webinars that we've done withMr.
Tai.
And we, of course, opened it upto people who joined us on the
(01:38):
live to post their own questionsto get his insight.
So what you're about to hear isa recording of that Instagram
live.
And we hope you enjoy it andfind things in it that are very
useful.
All right, our first question ofthe day.
How can you encourage middlemanagement to not be friends or
(02:00):
overly friendly, causing adivide between teachers?
SPEAKER_02 (02:04):
Well, and first, I think you have to ease them of
the fear that in order for themto be able to lead the way they
want to lead, that they have tobefriend them.
A lot of times leaders go intoit, it's sort of kind of like
how teachers go into thebeginning of the year, right?
In order for them to sort ofkind of have some type of
(02:25):
classroom management.
They think they have to startout with, oh, this is my baby.
This is my daughter.
This is my classroom.
But instead, you should startout with structure.
And like I said yesterday, beingfirm but fair, right?
Still starting out with yourrules, your expectations, but
still being firm but fair.
(02:45):
And the beginning part of thatis very serious as a leader.
I'm going to stick to the rulesthat you signed to, even if that
means you're going to get upsetbecause at the end of the day,
it sets us up for success.
So the answer to that is, is tostart out the way you plan to
hold out.
And the beginning is the mostimportant time.
It's just like we tell peopleabout ECE.
These early years are the mostimportant.
(03:07):
When you start out in any role,the beginning is the most
important.
SPEAKER_01 (03:14):
So we've got
SPEAKER_03 (03:14):
another.
SPEAKER_01 (03:15):
Oh, sorry.
Go ahead.
Go ahead.
Go ahead.
It was a question from a newbuilding director.
So We had just a transition Icouldn't give up.
The last director let a lotslide.
How do I best shift the culturewithout too much turnaround?
I
SPEAKER_02 (03:32):
think I said this yesterday.
The first way that you want todo it is you want to have a town
hall meeting.
You want to have a town hallmeeting where you bring them in
and you discuss how things aregoing to be moving forward.
You also want to take the blame.
(03:53):
The first part of this, well,the second thing it says, last
director let lot slide.
That means that they are doingwhat they are allowed to do.
So while it may be wrong, theywere allowed to do it.
And it takes time to correctwrong.
So you have to go in there witha strategic plan.
And that starts off with goingin, you accepting it.
(04:16):
Hey, I know this.
the company, whomever, allowedyou all to do X, Y, Z.
You're not wrong.
You were simply doing what youwere allowed to do.
However, in order for us to goto another level as a team, as a
company, as individuals, theseare the new guidelines in place.
And if you have questions aboutthese, see me after the meeting.
(04:36):
And that sets the tone for howit's going to be moving forward.
And you must stay consistent.
You must hold yourselfaccountable to those new
expectations that you're puttingout.
SPEAKER_01 (04:48):
So how often should you do those meetings?
SPEAKER_02 (04:51):
Every quarter.
SPEAKER_01 (04:53):
All right.
Let's go to some of them that wegot, some questions that we got
from the webinar that wecouldn't get to.
Okay.
How can I encourage staff totake initiative and feel
empowered in their roles whilemaintaining consistency in
classroom practices?
And I should tell you all thatMr.
Ty is just doing this off thecuff.
SPEAKER_02 (05:17):
To keep them empowered, I want to say this.
Warren, I want us to shift ourmindset about consistency.
how we manage people.
I think that the biggest thingthat we've come into a problem
with as leaders is that we grewup, and myself included, no, I'm
not as old, but, or however youwant to say it, because I'm not
(05:41):
being disrespectful, but I stillgrew up in South Carolina with
Very, very.
I was around my grandparents allthe time.
If you put a group of youngprofessionals around me and a
group of seasoned professionalsaround me, I'm going to the
seasoned professionals, right?
Because I just love thatinformation.
And I said that to say this.
Back in the day, we had peoplethat told us, hey, go to work.
(06:03):
Retire, do your best, so forthand so on.
That was our end goal.
Our end goal was to retire andrelax for the rest of our life.
However, nowadays, people wantto feel good.
Everything that they do,Everything that they want to do.
This is good to me.
And I really blame it on theparents because we raise
(06:26):
children where we don't wantthem to hurt.
We don't want them to hear no.
But we are now seeing how thoselittle children turn into big
adults who don't want to hearno, who don't want to work hard,
who don't want to do anything.
So in order for you to get themto do so, you're going to have
to go back to getting them to doit as if they were the child.
You're going to have to brag onthem.
(06:46):
You're going to have to givethem praises.
You're going to have to do allthese things because that's the
generation that we have fosterednow.
Everybody wants to be caught up.
Everybody wants somethingsimple.
Even leaders, even businessowners.
You don't want to sit under mewhen I'm telling you that you're
wrong.
Before you do that, you'll go tosomebody else that says, well,
no, your team just needs...
You just have C and D playersand you need A...
(07:08):
No, no, no, no, no, no.
The culture...
would not invite C and D playersif it was the right culture.
So now you have to address thefact that you have the wrong
culture.
So everything starts with, withyou and adjusting your mindset
and empower them the moment theycome in the door.
And I'm talking about the simplething.
(07:28):
I had a teacher.
She was great at bulletinboards.
Oh my God.
Every time I got ready to bragon her, I bragged to her about
that bulletin board.
When parents would come in to doa tour, I teach, when I do my, I
haven't done it in a while, butwhen I do my director mentorship
program, I teach them.
When you are giving a tour to aprospective parent, you stop at
(07:50):
that classroom.
Each classroom, you saysomething good about that
teacher.
I don't care if you have to pullit out of the cat's ass.
You pull it out.
This is my teacher that, oh myGod, whenever I need someone to
stay over, I can always dependon her.
You're empowering her right thento be even better at whatever
because she knows that when youget the chance to, you're going
(08:11):
to brag on her.
You have to empower your teamevery step of the way because
we're not dealing with the samepeople go to work, retire, and
I'll be happy at the end of theday.
They want to be happy every daythat they have to enter into
that center.
Every single day.
And that doesn't mean somethingmonetary because we love to say
that too.
You don't have to buy people ifthe environment is right.
(08:35):
You don't have to buy people ifthe culture is right.
SPEAKER_01 (08:41):
Okay.
Ready for the next one?
SPEAKER_03 (08:44):
Yes, ma'am.
SPEAKER_01 (08:46):
Okay.
I am a brand new owner takingover a center that has a
tarnished reputation andfrustrated staff.
How can I get community andstaff buy-in?
SPEAKER_02 (08:59):
Fair enough.
First, what I would do is, Idon't know if they had an email
list.
Everybody that is listening tothis, new owner, old owner,
doesn't matter.
You need to start you an emaillist.
So everything that they doshould lead them to your email
list.
Pause.
See, this is the stuff we'regoing to be talking about at the
Mastermind, so I can break downto you.
(09:21):
So you need to meet me andProCare at the Mastermind so
that you can really, reallylearn how to do this.
But you need an email list.
That way, you can start sendingout things that invite the
community in.
What are you saying, Mr.
Ty?
Okay, every month, they havespecial holidays.
Sometimes it's National CrayonDay.
It's National Cookie Day.
You can send out stuff aboutthat, but then at the bottom of
(09:42):
that email, also send outdifferent things about your
center that Grab their attentionfirst.
Have the rest of it in thebottom.
You can send out that email atleast once a week that, A, gets
them in the habit of checkingtheir emails.
B, also invites them into whatyou have going on at your
center.
Start having more center, morecommunity at your center.
(10:04):
There are several times whenpeople, content creators now are
all around the world.
So there are several times whenpeople are hosting, they're
looking for places to hostworkshops.
Why can't your center be one ofthe places that they host this
workshop?
And now that brings in moretraffic to your center.
While they're hosting that eventat your center, you have a table
that's set up there.
(10:24):
The table that's set up It'ssaying that you're not rolling,
that you're not hiring.
But guess what?
You put your best eight playersat that table.
The one that is smiling all thetime.
The one that is happy all thetime.
Then you get the one that lovescontent on social media and they
record it.
Now you just empower thecommunity and your team members
to do just what you need them todo.
Take your business to the nextlevel.
(10:46):
One thing I tell people all thetime is don't get angry, get
effective.
The problem with today'schildcare people is that we get
so angry because they are doingwhat we did.
I'm going to say that again.
Because they aren't doing whatwe did or what we would do.
So instead of getting angry, geteffective.
Speak the language that theywant to hear so they can give
(11:07):
you the results that you want tosee.
And that goes for the communityand your team.
You know what's in yourcommunity.
And if you don't, that meansyou're not as involved as you
should be.
Because you should be at thetown hall meeting.
You should be visiting theschool to see what the schools
are having going on.
That should be you.
SPEAKER_01 (11:30):
Want to go to the next one?
Do you have any more to say?
SPEAKER_02 (11:31):
No, you can go ahead to the next one.
UNKNOWN (11:36):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (11:37):
What kind of incentives can I give staff that
might be low cost, like a jeansday or an extra planning block?
What ideas can you provide?
SPEAKER_02 (11:48):
You don't even have to do that.
Send them home early.
Let me help you out.
One, send them home early.
Think about this.
If this teacher, today isThursday, right?
I was notorious for this.
I always know Mr.
Ty is not telling you anythingthat he did not do himself.
I believe that book, thatexperience is the best teacher.
(12:09):
I hate any book that's tellingme what to do in child care.
Okay?
So what I'm telling you, I saidthat to say, when I was a
director, let's just say todayis Thursday.
And midday, I see that, okay,kids are starting to go home a
little early.
I'm going to go look at thatbuilding to see who can I move
around and who can I send homeearly with pay.
(12:32):
I said this at my conference formy VIP guest.
With pay.
Now, I know you're probablylooking like, no, you would have
paid them for the entire dayanyway.
See, at some point in time, yougot to learn where to cut your
losses at.
You would have paid them anyway.
So instead of you trying to cutyour payroll, Send them home and
say, baby, you can go home andI'm going to put your time in
(12:54):
for the remainder of the day.
That speaks a whole notherlanguage.
You didn't spend not one extradime on anything, but you're
still so busy trying to cutpayroll instead of trying to
empower.
Now, with that same teacher thatyou sent me home early with pay,
if you need me to stay over oneday, I'm going to remember that.
(13:15):
She sent me home early last weekwith pay.
So yeah, I saved a little whilefor you.
And guess what?
That's going to be the languagethat starts going around your
center.
Literally, they're going tostart saying, nah, when he can,
he sends me home early.
Or when she can, she sends mehome early.
So just stick with it.
That becomes the language.
The problem is in child care, tobe honest with you, Ms.
(13:37):
Leah, and to everybody that'swatching, it's a, I said it
yesterday, it's a vacuum.
We are draining the teachers.
Literally, we're draining them.
They're mobbed.
They're sweeping.
They're serving lunch.
They're teaching.
They're doing lesson plans.
They're doing everything.
For what?
$15 an hour?
(13:57):
Come on.
Let's be real.
No.
You have to look at your center.
Start investing in the thingsthat matter.
Stop making them clean up.
Stop saying, oh, well, yousigned up for it.
I'm going to give a darn what Isigned up for.
No, what I signed up to be was ateacher.
Now you're adding extra things.
And now, yes, I want to get paidmore.
(14:18):
So instead of you making meclean up, go look for a
janitorial company.
You can go get you a lady thatwalks around the building all
day long simply cleaning up.
It may cost you, what,$10,$11,$12 an hour, but think about
what it does for your team.
SPEAKER_01 (14:36):
And this came up too yesterday.
Somebody was talking about howdo I get my staff to pick up the
playground, to pick up theirtoys in the room.
And you were saying, do you wantto repeat?
Miss Leah, let me tell
SPEAKER_02 (14:48):
you.
Let me tell you.
And I'm being honest withpeople.
When I worked at CRIM, I toldthis story around the world.
I was only making, as thedirector of curriculum, I was
only making$35,500 a year.
That is$15 and something anhour.
Hear me, as the director ofcurriculum.
For CRIM, you have the executivedirector, the director of
(15:11):
curriculum, the director ofadministration, which means I
was the second in charge making$15 and something an hour.
Right now, if I decided to stopbeing the child care whisperer
and go back to work for acompany, I would go to crimp.
What's that?
I would go to crimp.
I would go to crimp.
And I would be okay with takingthe$35,500 a year.
(15:35):
You want to know why?
Yeah.
It's a well-oiled machine.
They, like I said...
You have the executive director.
The executive director's onlyjob is to make sure that the
books are together, the money iscoming in, everything is right,
everything is ordered.
All this at a third.
(15:56):
The director of curriculum's jobis to make sure that the
teachers have their lesson plan,make sure they have everything
that they need in theirclassroom.
If they need to be ordered, giveit to the executive director.
The director of administration,her job is to process the
payments, sit at the desk allday long.
You cannot...
If they look on the camera andthere's nobody at the desk, you
get in trouble.
The director of administrationjob is to sit at the desk, open
(16:18):
the door, answer the phones,everything.
Then we had day porters.
Day porters walked around thebuilding taking the teacher's
trash out.
If they needed help withanything, helping.
And that was in addition to thefloaters.
Now, I know some people aregoing to say, I can't afford
that.
You can't afford that because ofthe business that you have
built.
See, your problem.
is that you're so focused on thechildren and the families
(16:40):
instead of being focused onbuilding a business or a center
that they need, that they can'tlive without.
That no matter what you do, theywant their child at your center.
That's the problem.
You have to save everybodymentality instead of having a
business mentality.
I'm going to start a businessthat is so in demand that no
matter what, no matter the cost,they're going to come.
(17:03):
We don't have business sense inchildcare.
We have emotional sense.
Everything is emotional.
Trying to run a business.
They don't go together.
SPEAKER_01 (17:16):
We always hear that too from customers that I didn't
get into childcare to be anaccountant or to be an
administrator, but...
SPEAKER_02 (17:25):
But that comes...
with the business.
And if you sit back and listento what you're saying, and
actually, in all honesty,because Mr.
Ty don't lie, this is a part ofthe podcast, in all honesty, it
doesn't make sense.
Anything that you do, you needmoney to do it.
Anything.
There's nothing that you can dothat you want to see grow and
(17:45):
really have an impact that youdon't need money to do it.
So while you're trying to makean impact, you also have to
build a reputable business thatbrings in the right revenue that
enables you to make that impact.
People want to get paid.
People want to weld all yourmachines.
So you have to create a businessthat people pay for that service
(18:05):
so you can produce.
You want to be at home.
You want to be able to let yourbusiness run on its own.
Well, I'm teaching you what todo.
So instead of saying that youcan't, sign away to...
SPEAKER_01 (18:19):
Okay.
Find a way to.
All right.
How can you help teachers andstaff find a way to feel
confident redirecting orcorrecting children, especially
those with challengingbehaviors?
SPEAKER_02 (18:35):
One, they need a policy that supports their
correction.
Right now, what's happening iswhen they correct, nobody is
there to support them.
First of all, they shouldnever...
You know, I sit and I listen toseveral teachers who feel like
their hands are tied when itcomes to students.
All the time.
(18:55):
All the time.
And it's because so much isgoing on because, once again,
the centers are sochildren-heavy.
And I want to say this.
I'm not saying that the childrenare not the center of what we
do.
That's not what I'm saying.
What I am saying is this.
They may be the center of whatwe do, but who's doing the work?
(19:18):
That's the thing.
That's the disconnect.
Yes, they are the center of whatwe do, but who's doing the work?
Mom can say what she wants.
Who's doing the work?
Director, you can say what youwant.
Who's in the classroom doing thework?
Owner, you can say what youwant.
(19:39):
Who's in the classroom doing thework?
That's the teacher.
So if they're telling you thatthey need support with
behaviors, stop saying you justneed to do X, Y, Z.
Well, when I was a teacher,okay, sweetheart, my love, I
said this yesterday, my love,you didn't teach prior to
(20:01):
post-COVID.
Come try your, come try your,I'm going to be honest, your
dusty technique because it got alittle dust on it.
Try them in post-COVIDclassrooms.
Try them.
Because just like I said aboutthe mindset about employees, we
also have a different mindsetwith parents.
See, but before COVID, beforethe shift, even back a little
(20:26):
bit more, if you had to call aparent to come get their child
or because their child wasmisbehaving, that was a problem.
Yeah.
That was a problem.
I know you...
A big problem.
I know you're not disrespectingthe teacher.
I know they didn't just call meoff my job.
I know you didn't just do X, Y,Z.
(20:46):
It was correction immediately.
Nowadays, parents take two hoursand 36 minutes to even come get
them after answering the phoneon the eighth ring, on the
eighth call of you trying toreach them.
And you want to know why they'redoing that?
Because they understand that thebehaviors are horrible.
(21:06):
What we failed to realize wasduring COVID, when they had to
sit down and keep their childrenthemselves, even they started to
admit, I don't know how teachersdo this.
I can't do it.
But then we came back afterCOVID acting like everything was
perfectly fine.
I'm over the passiveness for thechildren and the families, but
(21:27):
then you want the teachers towalk on their straight line with
no support.
That makes no sense.
SPEAKER_01 (21:34):
So how can directors and owners give them that
support that they need?
SPEAKER_02 (21:38):
They're going to have to come up with a policy.
Like I said yesterday, I saidthis one time before when I was
live, I don't understand whathappened to when a child becomes
a danger to himself or others,they are no longer allowed in
the building.
I don't understand what happenedto that.
Ms.
Leah, I go around the world.
There are teachers that aretelling me that I just got on
(21:59):
medical leave because I had acracked pelvis bone.
I had a stab in my leg from achild.
I have...
Meanwhile, the leaders weresaying, well, we can't
SPEAKER_03 (22:09):
put him
SPEAKER_01 (22:09):
out.
SPEAKER_03 (22:15):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (22:19):
And my immediate response to that was, okay...
If the teacher did what to thechild, what the child did to
her, what would you do?
Oh, I'd fire her.
Oh.
Oh.
Would you?
But it's okay because while he'slittle, you know little problems
turn into big problems.
(22:40):
So while he's stabbing now, hemay be shooting later.
See, we don't want to face thereality.
But our job is to nip theproblem in the bud now.
Because I've never Ever seen atree that stays little?
You see those trees back there?
They were once a seed, but nowthey're a tree big and tall.
It's harder for you to cut thattree down now than when it was
little to the ground.
What are you saying?
(23:00):
We got to learn to cut theproblems off now while they're
little.
Because once they grow up, it'stoo late.
So put the policy in place.
I said it yesterday.
Put the policy in place to fixthe behavior.
One, you get a warning.
Two, I'm calling your mom.
Three, mom, he can't come backuntil you sit down with us and
(23:20):
we go over the plan that youhave to implement at home
because we're doing this at thecenter.
Four, mom, if he does it again,you're going to have to miss
work and come observe himoutside of the classroom on how
he behaves in the classroom.
Five, if one, two, three, fourdoesn't work, it's time for
dismissal.
Because like I said yesterday,it's not to get him dismissed.
(23:45):
It's to fix the behavior.
However, if the policy is notfixing the behavior, you got to
release them to the universe.
Or you're going to find yourselfconstantly with a revolving
door.
SPEAKER_01 (23:59):
Of staff.
SPEAKER_02 (24:00):
Of staff.
Because nobody's going to put upwith that.
Nobody's going to put up withthat.
You don't pay them enough to putup with that.
You can send them...
And let me say this.
Just because you send somebodyto the computer to watch a
training on social and emotionallearning does not make them
equipped to go in a classroomand do what a certified person
(24:22):
would do.
Somebody that went to school forthat.
I just want to go ahead and putthat out because we live by
that.
And that's not how that works.
Once again, it goes back.
We know these behaviors.
We know what's going on.
I probably can count on one handhow many centers have started
implementing behavioralspecialists at their centers.
All of this.
I can count on one hand.
(24:44):
Because they think that becauseI sent this teacher to this
workshop, he or she should beable to do it now.
That's insane.
That's insanity.
SPEAKER_01 (24:54):
I do want to put it out there that we have pro-care
professional development now,which offers a CDA pathway.
And that CDA, that elevatedstep, for hiring people who have
had the training on that, whowant to take that step to be
better leaders, please go toProCareSolutions.com, search
(25:20):
ProCare Professional Developmentand see if we can help with that
because it's a big thing.
Also, everybody, keep askingquestions right now in the
comments.
You have Mr.
Ty here.
Take advantage of it.
SPEAKER_02 (25:35):
Don't be shy.
Please don't.
Please don't.
And know that everything thatI'm saying, I know oftentimes
when I speak, it sounds like I'mfussing.
I'm not fussing.
I'm very passionate aboutchildcare.
And I'm very passionate aboutseeing the industry change.
I meet people all the time.
that really, really love thisindustry.
(25:55):
Like, honestly, they love theindustry.
And I tell people all the timethat when people sign up to
work, they know what they agreeto make.
When I signed up, I knew Iagreed to make$35,500.
What I did not know, or ifspeaking of a person that signed
up for that, what they did notknow is what all was included
(26:19):
that was not explained.
That's the thing.
I've sat in an interview.
No one ever asks, are you okaywith sweeping the floor?
You okay with mopping the floor?
You okay with this, that, andthe third?
You don't say that.
You're a teacher.
Can you perform the duties?
Can you do lesson plan?
Tell me about the time you hadwith a difficult child.
(26:40):
Tell me about it.
Those are the things.
But then when I get into theclassroom, there's a lot.
And not only is there a lot, Idon't have support.
And what gets me, Ms.
Leah...
is that year after year, dayafter day, month after month, we
see these problems, but we don'tchange.
(27:01):
We point fingers.
Like, no, they just need to dothis.
No, they just need to do that.
We never sit back and say, youknow what?
Maybe it is time for me tochange how my sensor runs, what
my sensor stands for.
Maybe it is time for me to putsome new policies in place so
that they do feel supported.
Because I've never heard themsay anything about money.
(27:22):
Never.
Honestly, that's what ticks meoff.
Because I never hear them sayanything about money.
If I had an aggregation of ECEteachers here right now, the
majority of them would saysupport.
That's what they would say.
They would say support.
(27:42):
Because I know what I mean.
SPEAKER_01 (27:45):
Has that changed since COVID or has it always
been that way?
SPEAKER_02 (27:48):
It's always been that way.
Always been that way.
I remember when I was a teacherand I've always been the vocal
one.
So the teacher would come to meand we get in the staff meeting.
We get in the staff meeting andI'm like, well, they said...
It was never money.
It was never money.
It's about, I don't want to getup every day and this child is
(28:10):
bad.
We don't even like to use thatword, but it's the truth.
This child is bad and you keepputting it all on me.
Meanwhile, mom just dropped themoff willy-nilly.
We're feeding them.
We're changing them.
We're doing X, Y, Z.
And you don't even want to putsomething in place to make mom.
Make mom come in and help uswith this problem.
It's his or her child.
UNKNOWN (28:32):
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02 (28:36):
That's my only thing.
We want so much change.
We want all of these things.
We want people to stay in theindustry, but we don't want to
do what it takes for them tostay.
SPEAKER_01 (28:44):
We got a question about that.
How can I best support newteachers in transitioning into
our school's culture andexpectations?
SPEAKER_02 (28:58):
That starts with your onboarding process.
Your onboarding process have tobe, and I'm talking about this
at the mastermind too, youronboarding process have to be
like, when you go to college,you have multiple days that you
have to go for onboarding.
Or you have to go for a long,you go in the morning, you don't
(29:22):
leave until about 12 or 1o'clock that day for new student
orientations.
Your onboarding has to be thesame way.
You have to get out ofonboarding teachers while
they're in the classroom, whilethey're doing the work.
No.
Day one, you're coming, andwe're just going to talk about
X, Y, Z.
Day two, you're coming, andwe're going to talk about X, Y,
Z.
(29:42):
Day three, you're coming, andwe're going to talk about X, Y,
Z.
I know you're probably saying,Mr.
Ty, I don't have that type oftime.
That goes back to your culture,my love, because if your culture
was correct, you You would havetime to have them go through
these modules.
If you cannot, if you don't havetime to do it, then you need to
sit down with a professional,key word, professional
(30:05):
videographer and record youronboarding process.
Stop depending on everybodyelse's onboarding system for
your business.
You need to sit down as theleader and come up with multiple
videos.
Video one, welcome to the EarlyLearning Institute.
That's my center.
We believe in video two.
(30:26):
We're going to video three.
And that's your onboarding foryour company.
And they don't touch the floor.
I don't care how short staffthey are.
They don't touch the floor untilthey have watched every module.
They come into work, go straightto a computer.
(30:49):
Once they're finished...
At the end of those three days,you quiz them on what was on
those modules.
Then you send them to the floorwith a mentor, a strong teacher
that can help them out in thoserooms.
SPEAKER_01 (31:05):
So what are a lot of students doing instead of that?
What are the bad onboardingprocesses or lack of processes
that you're seeing?
SPEAKER_02 (31:15):
One, they're all in survival mode.
They're all in survival mode.
survivor mode.
So as soon as they get ateacher, first time they get a
teacher that does a goodinterview and say they have X
amount of years of experience, Ican skip over a lot of stuff and
go ahead and put him or her inthe classroom.
And then I'll do a workinginterview or I'll do working
(31:37):
with them and train them whileI'm on the job.
That's the notorious way.
You come in for an interview.
You do a good interview.
The next thing is you're goingto come in for a working
interview.
You're going to do a workinginterview.
I think you can handle theclassroom.
So then you come back.
I'm going to put you in theclassroom.
It is very rare to find anactual child care center that
(32:00):
has an onboarding process.
And I'm not talking about achecklist where they do
da-da-da-da-da-da.
No, I'm talking about anonboarding process where when
they get finished, I hate whenpeople book me and ask me for
credits.
Oh, do you get credits?
No, I do that with ProCare.
And I do it with ProCare almostevery month, and it's free.
So why is it that when it's timefor someone to come in to
(32:23):
empower your team, you only wantto do it if they get credit?
It doesn't make sense.
It goes to the mindset that theyhave for their team.
Now, let's talk about an owneror a leader.
An owner or a leader can go to aconference all day long and
spend X amount of dollars andonly leave with a good
experience.
Well, when it comes down totheir team, It has to be all of
(32:44):
this when they can get it forfree.
The credits that you want, theycan get it for free.
Why is that important?
Because it goes to everythingthat we do for them.
It's tied to how hard they haveto work for us.
(33:05):
And we love to say, oh, we can'tafford it.
That's a lie.
That's a lie.
Because we spend money.
money on everything else.
It's just that the teachersaren't that important because we
feel like they aren't going tovalue.
Oh, I did that for that teacherand she quit.
Let the marketplace trauma go,please.
Let the marketplace trauma go.
(33:26):
If they left, they did you afavor.
Let it go.
SPEAKER_01 (33:31):
Find somebody better.
SPEAKER_02 (33:33):
Find somebody better.
It's just like your husband andwife.
If they left you and you knowyou're the best thing walking,
you better help them pass itback.
So you can make room for thething that's supposed to come.
No.
Stop being angry when theyleave.
And sit down and figure out, youknow what?
I could have done this better.
We could have done this betteras a company.
We could have done this better.
(33:53):
And go to work and fix it.
I did this for her.
I did that for her.
Grow up.
It's business.
Grow up.
People come, people go.
SPEAKER_01 (34:07):
Don't let the bitterness linger.
SPEAKER_02 (34:08):
Don't let it.
But what they should be able tosay is, you know what?
That was a good center.
When they leave or when theythink the grass is greener on
the other side, they should beable to look back and say, you
know what?
I messed up.
That's your job.
That's your job.
(34:29):
Same thing I tell the teachersabout when they get ready to
quit.
I don't care about how you feel.
I don't care about how unhappyyou are.
When you get ready to leave,they should feel it.
They should say, you know what?
I missed that one-year-oldteacher.
She was, ooh, she was a goodone-year-old teacher.
We should have worked somethingout with her.
Ooh, that was a goodtwo-year-old teacher.
That's how it should be.
(34:50):
Never let your emotions dictatehow you show up or how you
perform.
No.
Build a system.
Make sure that everybody is,once again, I'll say it again,
firm but fair.
I can sum it up.
Firm but fair for everybody.
For the teachers, for thestudents, for the parents.
Firm,
SPEAKER_03 (35:10):
but fair.
SPEAKER_01 (35:14):
We got a question.
Opinion on phones in classrooms.
They have a no phone.
Yep.
Has been addressed in meetings,but only lasts a couple of
weeks.
Then I see phones all overagain.
So
SPEAKER_02 (35:34):
then when they come in the door, have them put them
in a basket.
or get them lockers, then letthem put them in a locker.
Firm but fair.
They may not like it, but onceagain, that goes back to your
onboarding.
This needs to be discussed inonboarding.
This is what happens withphones.
How do I know you can do it?
Because I go back to CREM again.
(35:55):
CREM, when you enter thebuilding, you put your phone in
the locker.
Yes, you know they're going tothe bathroom to check on their
phone, but what you ain't got toworry about is being in the
classroom.
And see, if you're a goodleader, I always knew when they
was calling just to go checktheir phone.
So that means when you call andsay, hey, Mr.
Ty, I need to go to therestroom.
Maybe that first phone call, I'mgoing to sit there about five
(36:15):
minutes, see how long it takesyou to call me back.
Because I need to see if youreally need to go to the
bathroom or if you need to gocheck your phone.
That's what I got to see.
Now, if you call me back, like,I called to go to the bathroom.
Okay, then I'll come expedition.
SPEAKER_01 (36:28):
So then what about using tablets in the classroom?
Like, to send pictures, to usecurriculum.
Make sure it's just for work.
It's just for work.
SPEAKER_02 (36:41):
It's just for work.
Just for communicating with theparents.
You can put blocks on them.
You can put blocks where theycan't look at certain things on
YouTube.
You can put blocks where theycan't look at certain things on
the internet.
They're just for work.
And this is the thing, you all.
You have to start this out inthe beginning.
Teachers don't have a problemwith it if they know it in the
beginning.
No, we got to stop beingpassive.
(37:04):
And help them understand, hey,you ever seen the commercial
that they say, if you one glanceat your phone, you already went
down a football field?
How about one glance in aclassroom full of little, 10
little Johnnies?
Something is bound to happen.
And what I don't want is for youto not be in the know.
It's not that I want you to haveyour phone, because I know, I
(37:27):
get it.
I want mine on me too.
What I don't want is for aparent to come back and blame
anything on you.
So we keep them safe.
You see how the whole verbiageis different.
Very different.
Even though I don't want to doit, I understand that you're
looking out for me.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (37:47):
So do you have any apps that you use to communicate
with parents?
SPEAKER_02 (37:52):
Absolutely, ProCare Connect.
Absolutely, ProCare Connect.
And I'm not just saying thatbecause ProCare is our visionary
sponsor.
No, I've actually worked, to behonest with you, even when we
decided to partner, I said, Ilove this because this is a
software that I've actuallyworked for and I've used.
(38:13):
I am a person that I am notgoing to market anything if I
have not used it myself.
I've used ProCare Connect.
I've used ProCare for severalyears.
They're the OG in the game.
So if you're looking for an appto connect with your families,
definitely ProCare Connect andmake sure that you make it
mandatory for them to send outone picture of each child per
(38:37):
day.
I want to see my child.
Ms.
Leah want to see her child.
You want to see your child.
One picture of each child perday.
You know what that does?
That keeps them busy.
SPEAKER_01 (38:47):
It's the ProCare Child Care mobile app and it's
got crazy high ratings in theapp store and it is really easy
to use.
And I will say too that when mykids were in daycare, our center
used it, and I loved gettingthose little updates of what
they were making and what theywere doing.
SPEAKER_02 (39:08):
Sorry.
ProCare Connect, it comes as atext message, too.
I'm almost certain I used tosend out text messages, too,
when I used it.
UNKNOWN (39:17):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (39:19):
All right.
Oh, we've got some.
Ms.
SPEAKER_02 (39:22):
Aaliyah, am I correct?
Can't they send out textmessages as well?
SPEAKER_01 (39:28):
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
And you can send newsletters.
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (39:31):
You can do a lot.
And it goes right to theirphone.
SPEAKER_01 (39:35):
And the apps you can use to, parents can use to make
payments, tuition.
It's good.
See, this is why you have tocome to
SPEAKER_02 (39:42):
the mastermind.
If you are a leader or adirector or an owner and you
want to know about more systemsthat ProCare offers that help
your business run like a worldon your machine, they're
awesome.
Awesome.
Phenomenal awesome.
Representative Mr.
Zach will be at the mastermindteaching about those things that
they have that help your centerrun like a world on your
(40:05):
machine.
If you're not good withfinances, if you didn't get into
business to handle that, letProCare handle it for you.
If you know that you need toconnect, come here, what they
have to offer, and then be readyto sign up.
They're going to be at theVision Mastermind in Phoenix,
Arizona, June the 6th throughthe 8th, and the tickets are
available on my website.
(40:25):
So get in the room.
Get in the room before they runout because there's only 100
spots available.
Another question.
SPEAKER_01 (40:32):
People asking about does ProCare have training?
Yes, go to our support center onour website.
Always feel free to call youraccount manager if you don't
think you're using it to yourfull potential.
We can help you with that.
Give us a call.
Shoot us an email.
Go to the website.
We have a ton of videos.
(40:54):
And if you need other help,we'll get you there.
We just had a really good one.
Oh, opinion on accident andincident reports.
When is it not okay...
not to communicate it withparents.
We have had issues in the pastwhere things should or should
not have been written up.
(41:22):
I think it's about how do youknow when you should do an
incident report.
SPEAKER_02 (41:27):
So I tell people to do an incident report for
everything.
I don't know, and I was going tosay, I don't know what you deem
as should not be written up.
I don't know.
I would have to hear that.
But I teach people to write upeverything.
(41:49):
And I say that because I know weall have had that parent that
she put little Johnny and littleSarah and little Susie in the
tub that night and mysteriouslyfound a mark.
And she calls the child carecenter, but nobody, oh, well, I
didn't write it up because Ididn't see anything.
No, it should always be writtenup.
And from the neck up, theyshould be informed immediately.
(42:12):
So So if it's from the neckdown, then you can inform them
when they pick up.
But from the neck up, theyshould get a phone call
immediately informing them as towhat happened.
Whether you see a mark or not,go ahead and tell them.
Go ahead and tell them.
And let me tell you something,that covers you even more.
Because when they go, let's justsay they go to the state because
(42:34):
it happened.
At least you did your part.
You informed them.
You have the documentation.
You always want to cover you.
So I always tell people to writeup the incident, no matter what.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (42:49):
How about we had a question from a webinar.
Advice for...
teachers who are a mentor likehow how can you present new
ideas for professionaldevelopment or anything else as
a mentor coach especially forsomebody maybe who's been asked
to be a mentor for the firsttime absolutely
SPEAKER_02 (43:10):
yeah first off congratulations because i love
mentors um and child carecenters i think they are
phenomenal.
I think every child care centershould have a team of at least
two mentors that welcome theirnew employees, walk them around
the building, build a rapportwith them.
Y'all, I get so bubbly aboutthis because it's so, it's so,
(43:32):
we just got to think outside ofthe box and put ourselves in the
shoes of how do you want to feelwhen you walk into a building.
So I said that, but I lovementors because they get to take
that person under the wing.
And what I encourage everymentor to do is sit down with
your team.
Sit down with them.
(43:53):
Let them have it out.
What's wrong?
Tell me what you want to see inthe room.
Take your notes.
Take your notes.
Sit down and listen to them.
One, because you need them toknow that you're their ally.
You need them to know that.
You need them to know that nomatter how bad they're feeling,
how good they're feeling, theycan always come to you.
And then you are the person thattakes that information to
(44:13):
management.
So you want to sit down, letthem get it all out.
Listen, whatever it is.
If you don't remember anythingelse I say today, eat the meat
and spit out the bone.
Take the substance that they aregiving you.
Write it down.
Everything else that you know isjust bull, spit it out.
That's the bone.
Spit it out.
But listen to them.
(44:33):
Listen,
SPEAKER_03 (44:35):
people just want to be heard.
SPEAKER_01 (44:39):
Yep.
All right.
We got you for just like aboutsix more minutes.
And I got a good question foryou.
Okay.
Should teachers...
And you're someone who is very,very social media savvy.
And if you're not following Mr.
Ty on his channels, I wouldrecommend it because he does not
(45:00):
disappoint.
And also Procare, of course, ourFacebook, Instagram,
SPEAKER_02 (45:05):
TikTok.
Yes, all of them.
Every place that you follow me,follow Procare.
I'm on Instagram, TikTok, andFacebook.
And this summer at theVisionaire Mastermind, we are
recording my first two episodesof my podcast.
And yes, ProCare is one of theepisodes.
And so now then we're going tobe dominating YouTube.
(45:26):
Oh, get ready.
Get ready.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (45:27):
it's going to be fun.
Okay.
So should teachers be able todefend themselves on social
media when the community isbelittling a center?
No.
Yeah, that sounds dangerous.
SPEAKER_02 (45:41):
No.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
Let me tell you, you just need,you need a general PR statement.
We thank you for expressing yourconcern.
Please be sure to stop by thecenter so that we can hear those
in person.
We are more than welcome, morethan open to fixing any issue
that may arise.
(46:01):
We thank you for being a loyaland valuable customer of
whatever your center name
SPEAKER_03 (46:07):
is.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (46:07):
You don't, when they go, when they go low, you don't
go lower, you go higher.
So no, you don't.
SPEAKER_01 (46:15):
What if it's a teacher who's on there doing it,
thinking they're helping thecause?
Like
SPEAKER_02 (46:23):
going there to defend the center on behalf of
the center?
Mm-hmm.
UNKNOWN (46:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (46:28):
And once again, that goes back to onboarding.
You have to talk about thosethings to onboard it because
even when I worked forKinderCare, we were taught that
if an angry parent came out,that you crack the door, slide
in the lawyer's car, close itback, go on about your day.
So all of these things, and thisis what I mean when I say about
(46:50):
an onboarding process, everyquestion that they're answering
should be answered during theironboarding process.
So when it comes down toresponding on social media, that
should be addressed in youronboarding process.
No matter what they say onsocial media about us, our job
is to prove them wrong inperson.
Our job is to, when parents comeup to visit our center or when
(47:11):
they come to enroll in ourcenter, that should be deemed an
I.
These are the way we starttraining our professionals to be
professionals.
UNKNOWN (47:23):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (47:26):
All right, I got one that might take the last five
minutes.
You could probably talk on thisfor two hours.
How do you navigate teacherburnout?
I warned
SPEAKER_02 (47:46):
you.
How do you navigate teacherburnout?
Are you a teacher trying tonavigate it or are you a leader
trying to help them navigatethrough it?
I guess I'll answer from bothsides.
SPEAKER_01 (47:58):
Yeah, let's do both.
SPEAKER_02 (48:00):
Okay.
If you are a leader, let's startthere.
No, if you're a teacher that istrying to navigate burnout, one,
I would encourage you to do onething.
Identify the root cause of whyyou're burned out.
What I have learned is thatoftentimes work gets the blame.
(48:24):
for what is actually burning usout.
Oftentimes, it's our personallives that are discombobulated,
that are not aligned with whatwe feel they should be, all of
these things.
And now work is the icing on the
SPEAKER_03 (48:42):
cake.
SPEAKER_02 (48:42):
It's the straw that broke the camel's back.
So when I would ask you toidentify the root cause of why
you are burned out.
Now, if that cause is work, ifit is rightfully work, I want
you to go sit down and have aprofessional, hear me and hear
(49:04):
me good, a professional meetingwith your leader, expressing how
that makes you feel, expressinghow that contributes to how you
show up in the classroom, Howall of these things,
professionally, that means don'tgo in there saying, well, I'm
just not, and I got to do that.
(49:25):
You go in there, you say, Ms.
So-and-so, I would like to havea conversation about you, with
you, because I really loveworking here.
I really do.
When I got hired, I knew therewas something about this place
that made me feel connectedhere.
However, over the last fewweeks, maybe even months, I've
(49:47):
been feeling really, really,really burnt out.
And I want to talk to you aboutthe things that are making me
feel burnt out so that we canwork together on fixing those
things.
Because I also know that there'sother team members that are
feeling that way as well.
But we love it here.
We just want to come up with asolution together.
I presented the problem.
I included myself in it.
(50:08):
And I also included that I wantto be a part of the solution.
It's all about you.
how you deliver it.
But first, identify your why.
Why are you burned out?
If you are a leader that istrying to help your team members
that are burned out, look at theworkload.
Like I was talking about earlierabout getting the janitor, you
(50:32):
also have to look at why theyare burned out.
Why are they calling out?
Why are they frustrated?
Why don't they want to go theextra mile?
You have to begin to identifythese things.
A good leader sits back.
It's just like a parent withtheir child.
If that child is doingsomething, one thing out of the
blue or abnormal, we areimmediately trying to figure out
(50:52):
the why.
Why are you walking like that?
Why are you talking like that?
Why do you have your pants onlike that?
We automatically want to figureout the why.
You have to have that samementality about your team when
you see that they're gettingburned out.
Why are you that way?
What can I do to fix it?
Like I said earlier, eat themeat and spit out the bones.
But you've got to identify thewhy.
(51:13):
And when you're identifying thewhy, both teacher and leader,
take some accountability.
Because like I tell everybody,when you begin to do this,
there's more fingers pointingback at you than they are
pointing at the person thatyou're pointing at.
So when you begin to look atyour why, see what have I
contributed or how have Icontributed to me being burnt
(51:36):
out?
And what can I do also to fixit?
Maybe I need to get up early inthe morning.
I have a morning routine.
My executive assistant knowsthat I'm not responding to any
work text message or messagebefore 1030.
Why?
Because I have a morning routinewhere I set my tone.
I'm in my worship.
(51:56):
I'm getting my day ready.
I don't care about who needs me.
I need to make sure I am rightfirst before I can give myself
to other people.
So maybe you need to sit downand look at that.
When you get out of work, areyou going immediately home to be
a mother or wife?
No.
Maybe you need to take a detourand go get you your own plate of
food and you sit down and youeat it and you decompress.
(52:19):
Then you go home and cook forthe family so that you can show
up your best self.
You have to identify your why,take some accountability, and
then go to work fixing it.
SPEAKER_01 (52:30):
And that is a wrap on our Q&A session.
Thank you to everyone whosubmitted questions, either at
our webinar or through ourInstagram Live.
And of course, thank you to Mr.
Tai for taking the time toanswer them.
Stay connected with us on oursocial media channels for when
our next live will happen.
And thanks so much for listeningtoday.
(52:51):
Bye, everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (52:53):
Until next time.
Welcome to the Child Care Business Podcast, brought
to you by ProCare Solutions.
This podcast is all about givingchildcare, preschool, daycare,
afterschool, and other earlyeducation professionals a fun
(00:22):
and upbeat way to learn aboutstrategies and inspiration you
can use to thrive.
You'll hear from a variety ofchildcare thought leaders,
including educators, owners, andindustry experts on ways to
innovate to meet the needs ofthe children you serve.
From practical tips for managingoperations to uplifting stories
of transformation and triumph,this podcast will be chock full
(00:45):
of insights you can use to fullyrealize the potential of your
childcare business.
Let's jump in.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
Hello, everyone, and welcome to our newest episode of
the Child Care Business Podcast.
My name is Leah Woodbury.
I'm the head of content here atProCare Solutions.
This podcast is going to sound alittle bit different than some
that you might be used to.
We recently hosted an InstagramLive with Mr.
Tai, the Child Care Whisperer,and he's the president of the
(01:16):
Child Care Agency.
He's a popular motivationalkeynote speaker.
He's an early childhoodeducation teams coach.
And he has worked in ECE formany, many years.
So what we did was we tookquestions that we had left from
webinars that we've done withMr.
Tai.
And we, of course, opened it upto people who joined us on the
(01:38):
live to post their own questionsto get his insight.
So what you're about to hear isa recording of that Instagram
live.
And we hope you enjoy it andfind things in it that are very
useful.
All right, our first question ofthe day.
How can you encourage middlemanagement to not be friends or
(02:00):
overly friendly, causing adivide between teachers?
SPEAKER_02 (02:04):
Well, and first, I think you have to ease them of
the fear that in order for themto be able to lead the way they
want to lead, that they have tobefriend them.
A lot of times leaders go intoit, it's sort of kind of like
how teachers go into thebeginning of the year, right?
In order for them to sort ofkind of have some type of
(02:25):
classroom management.
They think they have to startout with, oh, this is my baby.
This is my daughter.
This is my classroom.
But instead, you should startout with structure.
And like I said yesterday, beingfirm but fair, right?
Still starting out with yourrules, your expectations, but
still being firm but fair.
(02:45):
And the beginning part of thatis very serious as a leader.
I'm going to stick to the rulesthat you signed to, even if that
means you're going to get upsetbecause at the end of the day,
it sets us up for success.
So the answer to that is, is tostart out the way you plan to
hold out.
And the beginning is the mostimportant time.
It's just like we tell peopleabout ECE.
These early years are the mostimportant.
(03:07):
When you start out in any role,the beginning is the most
important.
SPEAKER_01 (03:14):
So we've got
SPEAKER_03 (03:14):
another.
SPEAKER_01 (03:15):
Oh, sorry.
Go ahead.
Go ahead.
Go ahead.
It was a question from a newbuilding director.
So We had just a transition Icouldn't give up.
The last director let a lotslide.
How do I best shift the culturewithout too much turnaround?
I
SPEAKER_02 (03:32):
think I said this yesterday.
The first way that you want todo it is you want to have a town
hall meeting.
You want to have a town hallmeeting where you bring them in
and you discuss how things aregoing to be moving forward.
You also want to take the blame.
(03:53):
The first part of this, well,the second thing it says, last
director let lot slide.
That means that they are doingwhat they are allowed to do.
So while it may be wrong, theywere allowed to do it.
And it takes time to correctwrong.
So you have to go in there witha strategic plan.
And that starts off with goingin, you accepting it.
(04:16):
Hey, I know this.
the company, whomever, allowedyou all to do X, Y, Z.
You're not wrong.
You were simply doing what youwere allowed to do.
However, in order for us to goto another level as a team, as a
company, as individuals, theseare the new guidelines in place.
And if you have questions aboutthese, see me after the meeting.
(04:36):
And that sets the tone for howit's going to be moving forward.
And you must stay consistent.
You must hold yourselfaccountable to those new
expectations that you're puttingout.
SPEAKER_01 (04:48):
So how often should you do those meetings?
SPEAKER_02 (04:51):
Every quarter.
SPEAKER_01 (04:53):
All right.
Let's go to some of them that wegot, some questions that we got
from the webinar that wecouldn't get to.
Okay.
How can I encourage staff totake initiative and feel
empowered in their roles whilemaintaining consistency in
classroom practices?
And I should tell you all thatMr.
Ty is just doing this off thecuff.
SPEAKER_02 (05:17):
To keep them empowered, I want to say this.
Warren, I want us to shift ourmindset about consistency.
how we manage people.
I think that the biggest thingthat we've come into a problem
with as leaders is that we grewup, and myself included, no, I'm
not as old, but, or however youwant to say it, because I'm not
(05:41):
being disrespectful, but I stillgrew up in South Carolina with
Very, very.
I was around my grandparents allthe time.
If you put a group of youngprofessionals around me and a
group of seasoned professionalsaround me, I'm going to the
seasoned professionals, right?
Because I just love thatinformation.
And I said that to say this.
Back in the day, we had peoplethat told us, hey, go to work.
(06:03):
Retire, do your best, so forthand so on.
That was our end goal.
Our end goal was to retire andrelax for the rest of our life.
However, nowadays, people wantto feel good.
Everything that they do,Everything that they want to do.
This is good to me.
And I really blame it on theparents because we raise
(06:26):
children where we don't wantthem to hurt.
We don't want them to hear no.
But we are now seeing how thoselittle children turn into big
adults who don't want to hearno, who don't want to work hard,
who don't want to do anything.
So in order for you to get themto do so, you're going to have
to go back to getting them to doit as if they were the child.
You're going to have to brag onthem.
(06:46):
You're going to have to givethem praises.
You're going to have to do allthese things because that's the
generation that we have fosterednow.
Everybody wants to be caught up.
Everybody wants somethingsimple.
Even leaders, even businessowners.
You don't want to sit under mewhen I'm telling you that you're
wrong.
Before you do that, you'll go tosomebody else that says, well,
no, your team just needs...
You just have C and D playersand you need A...
(07:08):
No, no, no, no, no, no.
The culture...
would not invite C and D playersif it was the right culture.
So now you have to address thefact that you have the wrong
culture.
So everything starts with, withyou and adjusting your mindset
and empower them the moment theycome in the door.
And I'm talking about the simplething.
(07:28):
I had a teacher.
She was great at bulletinboards.
Oh my God.
Every time I got ready to bragon her, I bragged to her about
that bulletin board.
When parents would come in to doa tour, I teach, when I do my, I
haven't done it in a while, butwhen I do my director mentorship
program, I teach them.
When you are giving a tour to aprospective parent, you stop at
(07:50):
that classroom.
Each classroom, you saysomething good about that
teacher.
I don't care if you have to pullit out of the cat's ass.
You pull it out.
This is my teacher that, oh myGod, whenever I need someone to
stay over, I can always dependon her.
You're empowering her right thento be even better at whatever
because she knows that when youget the chance to, you're going
(08:11):
to brag on her.
You have to empower your teamevery step of the way because
we're not dealing with the samepeople go to work, retire, and
I'll be happy at the end of theday.
They want to be happy every daythat they have to enter into
that center.
Every single day.
And that doesn't mean somethingmonetary because we love to say
that too.
You don't have to buy people ifthe environment is right.
(08:35):
You don't have to buy people ifthe culture is right.
SPEAKER_01 (08:41):
Okay.
Ready for the next one?
SPEAKER_03 (08:44):
Yes, ma'am.
SPEAKER_01 (08:46):
Okay.
I am a brand new owner takingover a center that has a
tarnished reputation andfrustrated staff.
How can I get community andstaff buy-in?
SPEAKER_02 (08:59):
Fair enough.
First, what I would do is, Idon't know if they had an email
list.
Everybody that is listening tothis, new owner, old owner,
doesn't matter.
You need to start you an emaillist.
So everything that they doshould lead them to your email
list.
Pause.
See, this is the stuff we'regoing to be talking about at the
Mastermind, so I can break downto you.
(09:21):
So you need to meet me andProCare at the Mastermind so
that you can really, reallylearn how to do this.
But you need an email list.
That way, you can start sendingout things that invite the
community in.
What are you saying, Mr.
Ty?
Okay, every month, they havespecial holidays.
Sometimes it's National CrayonDay.
It's National Cookie Day.
You can send out stuff aboutthat, but then at the bottom of
(09:42):
that email, also send outdifferent things about your
center that Grab their attentionfirst.
Have the rest of it in thebottom.
You can send out that email atleast once a week that, A, gets
them in the habit of checkingtheir emails.
B, also invites them into whatyou have going on at your
center.
Start having more center, morecommunity at your center.
(10:04):
There are several times whenpeople, content creators now are
all around the world.
So there are several times whenpeople are hosting, they're
looking for places to hostworkshops.
Why can't your center be one ofthe places that they host this
workshop?
And now that brings in moretraffic to your center.
While they're hosting that eventat your center, you have a table
that's set up there.
(10:24):
The table that's set up It'ssaying that you're not rolling,
that you're not hiring.
But guess what?
You put your best eight playersat that table.
The one that is smiling all thetime.
The one that is happy all thetime.
Then you get the one that lovescontent on social media and they
record it.
Now you just empower thecommunity and your team members
to do just what you need them todo.
Take your business to the nextlevel.
(10:46):
One thing I tell people all thetime is don't get angry, get
effective.
The problem with today'schildcare people is that we get
so angry because they are doingwhat we did.
I'm going to say that again.
Because they aren't doing whatwe did or what we would do.
So instead of getting angry, geteffective.
Speak the language that theywant to hear so they can give
(11:07):
you the results that you want tosee.
And that goes for the communityand your team.
You know what's in yourcommunity.
And if you don't, that meansyou're not as involved as you
should be.
Because you should be at thetown hall meeting.
You should be visiting theschool to see what the schools
are having going on.
That should be you.
SPEAKER_01 (11:30):
Want to go to the next one?
Do you have any more to say?
SPEAKER_02 (11:31):
No, you can go ahead to the next one.
UNKNOWN (11:36):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (11:37):
What kind of incentives can I give staff that
might be low cost, like a jeansday or an extra planning block?
What ideas can you provide?
SPEAKER_02 (11:48):
You don't even have to do that.
Send them home early.
Let me help you out.
One, send them home early.
Think about this.
If this teacher, today isThursday, right?
I was notorious for this.
I always know Mr.
Ty is not telling you anythingthat he did not do himself.
I believe that book, thatexperience is the best teacher.
(12:09):
I hate any book that's tellingme what to do in child care.
Okay?
So what I'm telling you, I saidthat to say, when I was a
director, let's just say todayis Thursday.
And midday, I see that, okay,kids are starting to go home a
little early.
I'm going to go look at thatbuilding to see who can I move
around and who can I send homeearly with pay.
(12:32):
I said this at my conference formy VIP guest.
With pay.
Now, I know you're probablylooking like, no, you would have
paid them for the entire dayanyway.
See, at some point in time, yougot to learn where to cut your
losses at.
You would have paid them anyway.
So instead of you trying to cutyour payroll, Send them home and
say, baby, you can go home andI'm going to put your time in
(12:54):
for the remainder of the day.
That speaks a whole notherlanguage.
You didn't spend not one extradime on anything, but you're
still so busy trying to cutpayroll instead of trying to
empower.
Now, with that same teacher thatyou sent me home early with pay,
if you need me to stay over oneday, I'm going to remember that.
(13:15):
She sent me home early last weekwith pay.
So yeah, I saved a little whilefor you.
And guess what?
That's going to be the languagethat starts going around your
center.
Literally, they're going tostart saying, nah, when he can,
he sends me home early.
Or when she can, she sends mehome early.
So just stick with it.
That becomes the language.
The problem is in child care, tobe honest with you, Ms.
(13:37):
Leah, and to everybody that'swatching, it's a, I said it
yesterday, it's a vacuum.
We are draining the teachers.
Literally, we're draining them.
They're mobbed.
They're sweeping.
They're serving lunch.
They're teaching.
They're doing lesson plans.
They're doing everything.
For what?
$15 an hour?
(13:57):
Come on.
Let's be real.
No.
You have to look at your center.
Start investing in the thingsthat matter.
Stop making them clean up.
Stop saying, oh, well, yousigned up for it.
I'm going to give a darn what Isigned up for.
No, what I signed up to be was ateacher.
Now you're adding extra things.
And now, yes, I want to get paidmore.
(14:18):
So instead of you making meclean up, go look for a
janitorial company.
You can go get you a lady thatwalks around the building all
day long simply cleaning up.
It may cost you, what,$10,$11,$12 an hour, but think about
what it does for your team.
SPEAKER_01 (14:36):
And this came up too yesterday.
Somebody was talking about howdo I get my staff to pick up the
playground, to pick up theirtoys in the room.
And you were saying, do you wantto repeat?
Miss Leah, let me tell
SPEAKER_02 (14:48):
you.
Let me tell you.
And I'm being honest withpeople.
When I worked at CRIM, I toldthis story around the world.
I was only making, as thedirector of curriculum, I was
only making$35,500 a year.
That is$15 and something anhour.
Hear me, as the director ofcurriculum.
For CRIM, you have the executivedirector, the director of
(15:11):
curriculum, the director ofadministration, which means I
was the second in charge making$15 and something an hour.
Right now, if I decided to stopbeing the child care whisperer
and go back to work for acompany, I would go to crimp.
What's that?
I would go to crimp.
I would go to crimp.
And I would be okay with takingthe$35,500 a year.
(15:35):
You want to know why?
Yeah.
It's a well-oiled machine.
They, like I said...
You have the executive director.
The executive director's onlyjob is to make sure that the
books are together, the money iscoming in, everything is right,
everything is ordered.
All this at a third.
(15:56):
The director of curriculum's jobis to make sure that the
teachers have their lesson plan,make sure they have everything
that they need in theirclassroom.
If they need to be ordered, giveit to the executive director.
The director of administration,her job is to process the
payments, sit at the desk allday long.
You cannot...
If they look on the camera andthere's nobody at the desk, you
get in trouble.
The director of administrationjob is to sit at the desk, open
(16:18):
the door, answer the phones,everything.
Then we had day porters.
Day porters walked around thebuilding taking the teacher's
trash out.
If they needed help withanything, helping.
And that was in addition to thefloaters.
Now, I know some people aregoing to say, I can't afford
that.
You can't afford that because ofthe business that you have
built.
See, your problem.
is that you're so focused on thechildren and the families
(16:40):
instead of being focused onbuilding a business or a center
that they need, that they can'tlive without.
That no matter what you do, theywant their child at your center.
That's the problem.
You have to save everybodymentality instead of having a
business mentality.
I'm going to start a businessthat is so in demand that no
matter what, no matter the cost,they're going to come.
(17:03):
We don't have business sense inchildcare.
We have emotional sense.
Everything is emotional.
Trying to run a business.
They don't go together.
SPEAKER_01 (17:16):
We always hear that too from customers that I didn't
get into childcare to be anaccountant or to be an
administrator, but...
SPEAKER_02 (17:25):
But that comes...
with the business.
And if you sit back and listento what you're saying, and
actually, in all honesty,because Mr.
Ty don't lie, this is a part ofthe podcast, in all honesty, it
doesn't make sense.
Anything that you do, you needmoney to do it.
Anything.
There's nothing that you can dothat you want to see grow and
(17:45):
really have an impact that youdon't need money to do it.
So while you're trying to makean impact, you also have to
build a reputable business thatbrings in the right revenue that
enables you to make that impact.
People want to get paid.
People want to weld all yourmachines.
So you have to create a businessthat people pay for that service
(18:05):
so you can produce.
You want to be at home.
You want to be able to let yourbusiness run on its own.
Well, I'm teaching you what todo.
So instead of saying that youcan't, sign away to...
SPEAKER_01 (18:19):
Okay.
Find a way to.
All right.
How can you help teachers andstaff find a way to feel
confident redirecting orcorrecting children, especially
those with challengingbehaviors?
SPEAKER_02 (18:35):
One, they need a policy that supports their
correction.
Right now, what's happening iswhen they correct, nobody is
there to support them.
First of all, they shouldnever...
You know, I sit and I listen toseveral teachers who feel like
their hands are tied when itcomes to students.
All the time.
(18:55):
All the time.
And it's because so much isgoing on because, once again,
the centers are sochildren-heavy.
And I want to say this.
I'm not saying that the childrenare not the center of what we
do.
That's not what I'm saying.
What I am saying is this.
They may be the center of whatwe do, but who's doing the work?
(19:18):
That's the thing.
That's the disconnect.
Yes, they are the center of whatwe do, but who's doing the work?
Mom can say what she wants.
Who's doing the work?
Director, you can say what youwant.
Who's in the classroom doing thework?
Owner, you can say what youwant.
(19:39):
Who's in the classroom doing thework?
That's the teacher.
So if they're telling you thatthey need support with
behaviors, stop saying you justneed to do X, Y, Z.
Well, when I was a teacher,okay, sweetheart, my love, I
said this yesterday, my love,you didn't teach prior to
(20:01):
post-COVID.
Come try your, come try your,I'm going to be honest, your
dusty technique because it got alittle dust on it.
Try them in post-COVIDclassrooms.
Try them.
Because just like I said aboutthe mindset about employees, we
also have a different mindsetwith parents.
See, but before COVID, beforethe shift, even back a little
(20:26):
bit more, if you had to call aparent to come get their child
or because their child wasmisbehaving, that was a problem.
Yeah.
That was a problem.
I know you...
A big problem.
I know you're not disrespectingthe teacher.
I know they didn't just call meoff my job.
I know you didn't just do X, Y,Z.
(20:46):
It was correction immediately.
Nowadays, parents take two hoursand 36 minutes to even come get
them after answering the phoneon the eighth ring, on the
eighth call of you trying toreach them.
And you want to know why they'redoing that?
Because they understand that thebehaviors are horrible.
(21:06):
What we failed to realize wasduring COVID, when they had to
sit down and keep their childrenthemselves, even they started to
admit, I don't know how teachersdo this.
I can't do it.
But then we came back afterCOVID acting like everything was
perfectly fine.
I'm over the passiveness for thechildren and the families, but
(21:27):
then you want the teachers towalk on their straight line with
no support.
That makes no sense.
SPEAKER_01 (21:34):
So how can directors and owners give them that
support that they need?
SPEAKER_02 (21:38):
They're going to have to come up with a policy.
Like I said yesterday, I saidthis one time before when I was
live, I don't understand whathappened to when a child becomes
a danger to himself or others,they are no longer allowed in
the building.
I don't understand what happenedto that.
Ms.
Leah, I go around the world.
There are teachers that aretelling me that I just got on
(21:59):
medical leave because I had acracked pelvis bone.
I had a stab in my leg from achild.
I have...
Meanwhile, the leaders weresaying, well, we can't
SPEAKER_03 (22:09):
put him
SPEAKER_01 (22:09):
out.
SPEAKER_03 (22:15):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (22:19):
And my immediate response to that was, okay...
If the teacher did what to thechild, what the child did to
her, what would you do?
Oh, I'd fire her.
Oh.
Oh.
Would you?
But it's okay because while he'slittle, you know little problems
turn into big problems.
(22:40):
So while he's stabbing now, hemay be shooting later.
See, we don't want to face thereality.
But our job is to nip theproblem in the bud now.
Because I've never Ever seen atree that stays little?
You see those trees back there?
They were once a seed, but nowthey're a tree big and tall.
It's harder for you to cut thattree down now than when it was
little to the ground.
What are you saying?
(23:00):
We got to learn to cut theproblems off now while they're
little.
Because once they grow up, it'stoo late.
So put the policy in place.
I said it yesterday.
Put the policy in place to fixthe behavior.
One, you get a warning.
Two, I'm calling your mom.
Three, mom, he can't come backuntil you sit down with us and
(23:20):
we go over the plan that youhave to implement at home
because we're doing this at thecenter.
Four, mom, if he does it again,you're going to have to miss
work and come observe himoutside of the classroom on how
he behaves in the classroom.
Five, if one, two, three, fourdoesn't work, it's time for
dismissal.
Because like I said yesterday,it's not to get him dismissed.
(23:45):
It's to fix the behavior.
However, if the policy is notfixing the behavior, you got to
release them to the universe.
Or you're going to find yourselfconstantly with a revolving
door.
SPEAKER_01 (23:59):
Of staff.
SPEAKER_02 (24:00):
Of staff.
Because nobody's going to put upwith that.
Nobody's going to put up withthat.
You don't pay them enough to putup with that.
You can send them...
And let me say this.
Just because you send somebodyto the computer to watch a
training on social and emotionallearning does not make them
equipped to go in a classroomand do what a certified person
(24:22):
would do.
Somebody that went to school forthat.
I just want to go ahead and putthat out because we live by
that.
And that's not how that works.
Once again, it goes back.
We know these behaviors.
We know what's going on.
I probably can count on one handhow many centers have started
implementing behavioralspecialists at their centers.
All of this.
I can count on one hand.
(24:44):
Because they think that becauseI sent this teacher to this
workshop, he or she should beable to do it now.
That's insane.
That's insanity.
SPEAKER_01 (24:54):
I do want to put it out there that we have pro-care
professional development now,which offers a CDA pathway.
And that CDA, that elevatedstep, for hiring people who have
had the training on that, whowant to take that step to be
better leaders, please go toProCareSolutions.com, search
(25:20):
ProCare Professional Developmentand see if we can help with that
because it's a big thing.
Also, everybody, keep askingquestions right now in the
comments.
You have Mr.
Ty here.
Take advantage of it.
SPEAKER_02 (25:35):
Don't be shy.
Please don't.
Please don't.
And know that everything thatI'm saying, I know oftentimes
when I speak, it sounds like I'mfussing.
I'm not fussing.
I'm very passionate aboutchildcare.
And I'm very passionate aboutseeing the industry change.
I meet people all the time.
that really, really love thisindustry.
(25:55):
Like, honestly, they love theindustry.
And I tell people all the timethat when people sign up to
work, they know what they agreeto make.
When I signed up, I knew Iagreed to make$35,500.
What I did not know, or ifspeaking of a person that signed
up for that, what they did notknow is what all was included
(26:19):
that was not explained.
That's the thing.
I've sat in an interview.
No one ever asks, are you okaywith sweeping the floor?
You okay with mopping the floor?
You okay with this, that, andthe third?
You don't say that.
You're a teacher.
Can you perform the duties?
Can you do lesson plan?
Tell me about the time you hadwith a difficult child.
(26:40):
Tell me about it.
Those are the things.
But then when I get into theclassroom, there's a lot.
And not only is there a lot, Idon't have support.
And what gets me, Ms.
Leah...
is that year after year, dayafter day, month after month, we
see these problems, but we don'tchange.
(27:01):
We point fingers.
Like, no, they just need to dothis.
No, they just need to do that.
We never sit back and say, youknow what?
Maybe it is time for me tochange how my sensor runs, what
my sensor stands for.
Maybe it is time for me to putsome new policies in place so
that they do feel supported.
Because I've never heard themsay anything about money.
(27:22):
Never.
Honestly, that's what ticks meoff.
Because I never hear them sayanything about money.
If I had an aggregation of ECEteachers here right now, the
majority of them would saysupport.
That's what they would say.
They would say support.
(27:42):
Because I know what I mean.
SPEAKER_01 (27:45):
Has that changed since COVID or has it always
been that way?
SPEAKER_02 (27:48):
It's always been that way.
Always been that way.
I remember when I was a teacherand I've always been the vocal
one.
So the teacher would come to meand we get in the staff meeting.
We get in the staff meeting andI'm like, well, they said...
It was never money.
It was never money.
It's about, I don't want to getup every day and this child is
(28:10):
bad.
We don't even like to use thatword, but it's the truth.
This child is bad and you keepputting it all on me.
Meanwhile, mom just dropped themoff willy-nilly.
We're feeding them.
We're changing them.
We're doing X, Y, Z.
And you don't even want to putsomething in place to make mom.
Make mom come in and help uswith this problem.
It's his or her child.
UNKNOWN (28:32):
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02 (28:36):
That's my only thing.
We want so much change.
We want all of these things.
We want people to stay in theindustry, but we don't want to
do what it takes for them tostay.
SPEAKER_01 (28:44):
We got a question about that.
How can I best support newteachers in transitioning into
our school's culture andexpectations?
SPEAKER_02 (28:58):
That starts with your onboarding process.
Your onboarding process have tobe, and I'm talking about this
at the mastermind too, youronboarding process have to be
like, when you go to college,you have multiple days that you
have to go for onboarding.
Or you have to go for a long,you go in the morning, you don't
(29:22):
leave until about 12 or 1o'clock that day for new student
orientations.
Your onboarding has to be thesame way.
You have to get out ofonboarding teachers while
they're in the classroom, whilethey're doing the work.
No.
Day one, you're coming, andwe're just going to talk about
X, Y, Z.
Day two, you're coming, andwe're going to talk about X, Y,
Z.
(29:42):
Day three, you're coming, andwe're going to talk about X, Y,
Z.
I know you're probably saying,Mr.
Ty, I don't have that type oftime.
That goes back to your culture,my love, because if your culture
was correct, you You would havetime to have them go through
these modules.
If you cannot, if you don't havetime to do it, then you need to
sit down with a professional,key word, professional
(30:05):
videographer and record youronboarding process.
Stop depending on everybodyelse's onboarding system for
your business.
You need to sit down as theleader and come up with multiple
videos.
Video one, welcome to the EarlyLearning Institute.
That's my center.
We believe in video two.
(30:26):
We're going to video three.
And that's your onboarding foryour company.
And they don't touch the floor.
I don't care how short staffthey are.
They don't touch the floor untilthey have watched every module.
They come into work, go straightto a computer.
(30:49):
Once they're finished...
At the end of those three days,you quiz them on what was on
those modules.
Then you send them to the floorwith a mentor, a strong teacher
that can help them out in thoserooms.
SPEAKER_01 (31:05):
So what are a lot of students doing instead of that?
What are the bad onboardingprocesses or lack of processes
that you're seeing?
SPEAKER_02 (31:15):
One, they're all in survival mode.
They're all in survival mode.
survivor mode.
So as soon as they get ateacher, first time they get a
teacher that does a goodinterview and say they have X
amount of years of experience, Ican skip over a lot of stuff and
go ahead and put him or her inthe classroom.
And then I'll do a workinginterview or I'll do working
(31:37):
with them and train them whileI'm on the job.
That's the notorious way.
You come in for an interview.
You do a good interview.
The next thing is you're goingto come in for a working
interview.
You're going to do a workinginterview.
I think you can handle theclassroom.
So then you come back.
I'm going to put you in theclassroom.
It is very rare to find anactual child care center that
(32:00):
has an onboarding process.
And I'm not talking about achecklist where they do
da-da-da-da-da-da.
No, I'm talking about anonboarding process where when
they get finished, I hate whenpeople book me and ask me for
credits.
Oh, do you get credits?
No, I do that with ProCare.
And I do it with ProCare almostevery month, and it's free.
So why is it that when it's timefor someone to come in to
(32:23):
empower your team, you only wantto do it if they get credit?
It doesn't make sense.
It goes to the mindset that theyhave for their team.
Now, let's talk about an owneror a leader.
An owner or a leader can go to aconference all day long and
spend X amount of dollars andonly leave with a good
experience.
Well, when it comes down totheir team, It has to be all of
(32:44):
this when they can get it forfree.
The credits that you want, theycan get it for free.
Why is that important?
Because it goes to everythingthat we do for them.
It's tied to how hard they haveto work for us.
(33:05):
And we love to say, oh, we can'tafford it.
That's a lie.
That's a lie.
Because we spend money.
money on everything else.
It's just that the teachersaren't that important because we
feel like they aren't going tovalue.
Oh, I did that for that teacherand she quit.
Let the marketplace trauma go,please.
Let the marketplace trauma go.
(33:26):
If they left, they did you afavor.
Let it go.
SPEAKER_01 (33:31):
Find somebody better.
SPEAKER_02 (33:33):
Find somebody better.
It's just like your husband andwife.
If they left you and you knowyou're the best thing walking,
you better help them pass itback.
So you can make room for thething that's supposed to come.
No.
Stop being angry when theyleave.
And sit down and figure out, youknow what?
I could have done this better.
We could have done this betteras a company.
We could have done this better.
(33:53):
And go to work and fix it.
I did this for her.
I did that for her.
Grow up.
It's business.
Grow up.
People come, people go.
SPEAKER_01 (34:07):
Don't let the bitterness linger.
SPEAKER_02 (34:08):
Don't let it.
But what they should be able tosay is, you know what?
That was a good center.
When they leave or when theythink the grass is greener on
the other side, they should beable to look back and say, you
know what?
I messed up.
That's your job.
That's your job.
(34:29):
Same thing I tell the teachersabout when they get ready to
quit.
I don't care about how you feel.
I don't care about how unhappyyou are.
When you get ready to leave,they should feel it.
They should say, you know what?
I missed that one-year-oldteacher.
She was, ooh, she was a goodone-year-old teacher.
We should have worked somethingout with her.
Ooh, that was a goodtwo-year-old teacher.
That's how it should be.
(34:50):
Never let your emotions dictatehow you show up or how you
perform.
No.
Build a system.
Make sure that everybody is,once again, I'll say it again,
firm but fair.
I can sum it up.
Firm but fair for everybody.
For the teachers, for thestudents, for the parents.
Firm,
SPEAKER_03 (35:10):
but fair.
SPEAKER_01 (35:14):
We got a question.
Opinion on phones in classrooms.
They have a no phone.
Yep.
Has been addressed in meetings,but only lasts a couple of
weeks.
Then I see phones all overagain.
So
SPEAKER_02 (35:34):
then when they come in the door, have them put them
in a basket.
or get them lockers, then letthem put them in a locker.
Firm but fair.
They may not like it, but onceagain, that goes back to your
onboarding.
This needs to be discussed inonboarding.
This is what happens withphones.
How do I know you can do it?
Because I go back to CREM again.
(35:55):
CREM, when you enter thebuilding, you put your phone in
the locker.
Yes, you know they're going tothe bathroom to check on their
phone, but what you ain't got toworry about is being in the
classroom.
And see, if you're a goodleader, I always knew when they
was calling just to go checktheir phone.
So that means when you call andsay, hey, Mr.
Ty, I need to go to therestroom.
Maybe that first phone call, I'mgoing to sit there about five
(36:15):
minutes, see how long it takesyou to call me back.
Because I need to see if youreally need to go to the
bathroom or if you need to gocheck your phone.
That's what I got to see.
Now, if you call me back, like,I called to go to the bathroom.
Okay, then I'll come expedition.
SPEAKER_01 (36:28):
So then what about using tablets in the classroom?
Like, to send pictures, to usecurriculum.
Make sure it's just for work.
It's just for work.
SPEAKER_02 (36:41):
It's just for work.
Just for communicating with theparents.
You can put blocks on them.
You can put blocks where theycan't look at certain things on
YouTube.
You can put blocks where theycan't look at certain things on
the internet.
They're just for work.
And this is the thing, you all.
You have to start this out inthe beginning.
Teachers don't have a problemwith it if they know it in the
beginning.
No, we got to stop beingpassive.
(37:04):
And help them understand, hey,you ever seen the commercial
that they say, if you one glanceat your phone, you already went
down a football field?
How about one glance in aclassroom full of little, 10
little Johnnies?
Something is bound to happen.
And what I don't want is for youto not be in the know.
It's not that I want you to haveyour phone, because I know, I
(37:27):
get it.
I want mine on me too.
What I don't want is for aparent to come back and blame
anything on you.
So we keep them safe.
You see how the whole verbiageis different.
Very different.
Even though I don't want to doit, I understand that you're
looking out for me.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (37:47):
So do you have any apps that you use to communicate
with parents?
SPEAKER_02 (37:52):
Absolutely, ProCare Connect.
Absolutely, ProCare Connect.
And I'm not just saying thatbecause ProCare is our visionary
sponsor.
No, I've actually worked, to behonest with you, even when we
decided to partner, I said, Ilove this because this is a
software that I've actuallyworked for and I've used.
(38:13):
I am a person that I am notgoing to market anything if I
have not used it myself.
I've used ProCare Connect.
I've used ProCare for severalyears.
They're the OG in the game.
So if you're looking for an appto connect with your families,
definitely ProCare Connect andmake sure that you make it
mandatory for them to send outone picture of each child per
(38:37):
day.
I want to see my child.
Ms.
Leah want to see her child.
You want to see your child.
One picture of each child perday.
You know what that does?
That keeps them busy.
SPEAKER_01 (38:47):
It's the ProCare Child Care mobile app and it's
got crazy high ratings in theapp store and it is really easy
to use.
And I will say too that when mykids were in daycare, our center
used it, and I loved gettingthose little updates of what
they were making and what theywere doing.
SPEAKER_02 (39:08):
Sorry.
ProCare Connect, it comes as atext message, too.
I'm almost certain I used tosend out text messages, too,
when I used it.
UNKNOWN (39:17):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (39:19):
All right.
Oh, we've got some.
Ms.
SPEAKER_02 (39:22):
Aaliyah, am I correct?
Can't they send out textmessages as well?
SPEAKER_01 (39:28):
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
And you can send newsletters.
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (39:31):
You can do a lot.
And it goes right to theirphone.
SPEAKER_01 (39:35):
And the apps you can use to, parents can use to make
payments, tuition.
It's good.
See, this is why you have tocome to
SPEAKER_02 (39:42):
the mastermind.
If you are a leader or adirector or an owner and you
want to know about more systemsthat ProCare offers that help
your business run like a worldon your machine, they're
awesome.
Awesome.
Phenomenal awesome.
Representative Mr.
Zach will be at the mastermindteaching about those things that
they have that help your centerrun like a world on your
(40:05):
machine.
If you're not good withfinances, if you didn't get into
business to handle that, letProCare handle it for you.
If you know that you need toconnect, come here, what they
have to offer, and then be readyto sign up.
They're going to be at theVision Mastermind in Phoenix,
Arizona, June the 6th throughthe 8th, and the tickets are
available on my website.
(40:25):
So get in the room.
Get in the room before they runout because there's only 100
spots available.
Another question.
SPEAKER_01 (40:32):
People asking about does ProCare have training?
Yes, go to our support center onour website.
Always feel free to call youraccount manager if you don't
think you're using it to yourfull potential.
We can help you with that.
Give us a call.
Shoot us an email.
Go to the website.
We have a ton of videos.
(40:54):
And if you need other help,we'll get you there.
We just had a really good one.
Oh, opinion on accident andincident reports.
When is it not okay...
not to communicate it withparents.
We have had issues in the pastwhere things should or should
not have been written up.
(41:22):
I think it's about how do youknow when you should do an
incident report.
SPEAKER_02 (41:27):
So I tell people to do an incident report for
everything.
I don't know, and I was going tosay, I don't know what you deem
as should not be written up.
I don't know.
I would have to hear that.
But I teach people to write upeverything.
(41:49):
And I say that because I know weall have had that parent that
she put little Johnny and littleSarah and little Susie in the
tub that night and mysteriouslyfound a mark.
And she calls the child carecenter, but nobody, oh, well, I
didn't write it up because Ididn't see anything.
No, it should always be writtenup.
And from the neck up, theyshould be informed immediately.
(42:12):
So So if it's from the neckdown, then you can inform them
when they pick up.
But from the neck up, theyshould get a phone call
immediately informing them as towhat happened.
Whether you see a mark or not,go ahead and tell them.
Go ahead and tell them.
And let me tell you something,that covers you even more.
Because when they go, let's justsay they go to the state because
(42:34):
it happened.
At least you did your part.
You informed them.
You have the documentation.
You always want to cover you.
So I always tell people to writeup the incident, no matter what.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (42:49):
How about we had a question from a webinar.
Advice for...
teachers who are a mentor likehow how can you present new
ideas for professionaldevelopment or anything else as
a mentor coach especially forsomebody maybe who's been asked
to be a mentor for the firsttime absolutely
SPEAKER_02 (43:10):
yeah first off congratulations because i love
mentors um and child carecenters i think they are
phenomenal.
I think every child care centershould have a team of at least
two mentors that welcome theirnew employees, walk them around
the building, build a rapportwith them.
Y'all, I get so bubbly aboutthis because it's so, it's so,
(43:32):
we just got to think outside ofthe box and put ourselves in the
shoes of how do you want to feelwhen you walk into a building.
So I said that, but I lovementors because they get to take
that person under the wing.
And what I encourage everymentor to do is sit down with
your team.
Sit down with them.
(43:53):
Let them have it out.
What's wrong?
Tell me what you want to see inthe room.
Take your notes.
Take your notes.
Sit down and listen to them.
One, because you need them toknow that you're their ally.
You need them to know that.
You need them to know that nomatter how bad they're feeling,
how good they're feeling, theycan always come to you.
And then you are the person thattakes that information to
(44:13):
management.
So you want to sit down, letthem get it all out.
Listen, whatever it is.
If you don't remember anythingelse I say today, eat the meat
and spit out the bone.
Take the substance that they aregiving you.
Write it down.
Everything else that you know isjust bull, spit it out.
That's the bone.
Spit it out.
But listen to them.
(44:33):
Listen,
SPEAKER_03 (44:35):
people just want to be heard.
SPEAKER_01 (44:39):
Yep.
All right.
We got you for just like aboutsix more minutes.
And I got a good question foryou.
Okay.
Should teachers...
And you're someone who is very,very social media savvy.
And if you're not following Mr.
Ty on his channels, I wouldrecommend it because he does not
(45:00):
disappoint.
And also Procare, of course, ourFacebook, Instagram,
SPEAKER_02 (45:05):
TikTok.
Yes, all of them.
Every place that you follow me,follow Procare.
I'm on Instagram, TikTok, andFacebook.
And this summer at theVisionaire Mastermind, we are
recording my first two episodesof my podcast.
And yes, ProCare is one of theepisodes.
And so now then we're going tobe dominating YouTube.
(45:26):
Oh, get ready.
Get ready.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (45:27):
it's going to be fun.
Okay.
So should teachers be able todefend themselves on social
media when the community isbelittling a center?
No.
Yeah, that sounds dangerous.
SPEAKER_02 (45:41):
No.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
Let me tell you, you just need,you need a general PR statement.
We thank you for expressing yourconcern.
Please be sure to stop by thecenter so that we can hear those
in person.
We are more than welcome, morethan open to fixing any issue
that may arise.
(46:01):
We thank you for being a loyaland valuable customer of
whatever your center name
SPEAKER_03 (46:07):
is.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (46:07):
You don't, when they go, when they go low, you don't
go lower, you go higher.
So no, you don't.
SPEAKER_01 (46:15):
What if it's a teacher who's on there doing it,
thinking they're helping thecause?
Like
SPEAKER_02 (46:23):
going there to defend the center on behalf of
the center?
Mm-hmm.
UNKNOWN (46:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (46:28):
And once again, that goes back to onboarding.
You have to talk about thosethings to onboard it because
even when I worked forKinderCare, we were taught that
if an angry parent came out,that you crack the door, slide
in the lawyer's car, close itback, go on about your day.
So all of these things, and thisis what I mean when I say about
(46:50):
an onboarding process, everyquestion that they're answering
should be answered during theironboarding process.
So when it comes down toresponding on social media, that
should be addressed in youronboarding process.
No matter what they say onsocial media about us, our job
is to prove them wrong inperson.
Our job is to, when parents comeup to visit our center or when
(47:11):
they come to enroll in ourcenter, that should be deemed an
I.
These are the way we starttraining our professionals to be
professionals.
UNKNOWN (47:23):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (47:26):
All right, I got one that might take the last five
minutes.
You could probably talk on thisfor two hours.
How do you navigate teacherburnout?
I warned
SPEAKER_02 (47:46):
you.
How do you navigate teacherburnout?
Are you a teacher trying tonavigate it or are you a leader
trying to help them navigatethrough it?
I guess I'll answer from bothsides.
SPEAKER_01 (47:58):
Yeah, let's do both.
SPEAKER_02 (48:00):
Okay.
If you are a leader, let's startthere.
No, if you're a teacher that istrying to navigate burnout, one,
I would encourage you to do onething.
Identify the root cause of whyyou're burned out.
What I have learned is thatoftentimes work gets the blame.
(48:24):
for what is actually burning usout.
Oftentimes, it's our personallives that are discombobulated,
that are not aligned with whatwe feel they should be, all of
these things.
And now work is the icing on the
SPEAKER_03 (48:42):
cake.
SPEAKER_02 (48:42):
It's the straw that broke the camel's back.
So when I would ask you toidentify the root cause of why
you are burned out.
Now, if that cause is work, ifit is rightfully work, I want
you to go sit down and have aprofessional, hear me and hear
(49:04):
me good, a professional meetingwith your leader, expressing how
that makes you feel, expressinghow that contributes to how you
show up in the classroom, Howall of these things,
professionally, that means don'tgo in there saying, well, I'm
just not, and I got to do that.
(49:25):
You go in there, you say, Ms.
So-and-so, I would like to havea conversation about you, with
you, because I really loveworking here.
I really do.
When I got hired, I knew therewas something about this place
that made me feel connectedhere.
However, over the last fewweeks, maybe even months, I've
(49:47):
been feeling really, really,really burnt out.
And I want to talk to you aboutthe things that are making me
feel burnt out so that we canwork together on fixing those
things.
Because I also know that there'sother team members that are
feeling that way as well.
But we love it here.
We just want to come up with asolution together.
I presented the problem.
I included myself in it.
(50:08):
And I also included that I wantto be a part of the solution.
It's all about you.
how you deliver it.
But first, identify your why.
Why are you burned out?
If you are a leader that istrying to help your team members
that are burned out, look at theworkload.
Like I was talking about earlierabout getting the janitor, you
(50:32):
also have to look at why theyare burned out.
Why are they calling out?
Why are they frustrated?
Why don't they want to go theextra mile?
You have to begin to identifythese things.
A good leader sits back.
It's just like a parent withtheir child.
If that child is doingsomething, one thing out of the
blue or abnormal, we areimmediately trying to figure out
(50:52):
the why.
Why are you walking like that?
Why are you talking like that?
Why do you have your pants onlike that?
We automatically want to figureout the why.
You have to have that samementality about your team when
you see that they're gettingburned out.
Why are you that way?
What can I do to fix it?
Like I said earlier, eat themeat and spit out the bones.
But you've got to identify thewhy.
(51:13):
And when you're identifying thewhy, both teacher and leader,
take some accountability.
Because like I tell everybody,when you begin to do this,
there's more fingers pointingback at you than they are
pointing at the person thatyou're pointing at.
So when you begin to look atyour why, see what have I
contributed or how have Icontributed to me being burnt
(51:36):
out?
And what can I do also to fixit?
Maybe I need to get up early inthe morning.
I have a morning routine.
My executive assistant knowsthat I'm not responding to any
work text message or messagebefore 1030.
Why?
Because I have a morning routinewhere I set my tone.
I'm in my worship.
(51:56):
I'm getting my day ready.
I don't care about who needs me.
I need to make sure I am rightfirst before I can give myself
to other people.
So maybe you need to sit downand look at that.
When you get out of work, areyou going immediately home to be
a mother or wife?
No.
Maybe you need to take a detourand go get you your own plate of
food and you sit down and youeat it and you decompress.
(52:19):
Then you go home and cook forthe family so that you can show
up your best self.
You have to identify your why,take some accountability, and
then go to work fixing it.
SPEAKER_01 (52:30):
And that is a wrap on our Q&A session.
Thank you to everyone whosubmitted questions, either at
our webinar or through ourInstagram Live.
And of course, thank you to Mr.
Tai for taking the time toanswer them.
Stay connected with us on oursocial media channels for when
our next live will happen.
And thanks so much for listeningtoday.
(52:51):
Bye, everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (52:53):
Until next time.
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