Jaime Rechkemmer is the founder of Aim4Impact Consulting and her work in early childhood education includes helping child care centers with QRIS, compliance, professional development, curriculum, assessments, technology and more. She has worked at some of the largest child care organizations in the country, and she chairs the AI and Machine Learning Advisory Board at Watch Me Grow.
In this episode, Jamie shares her tips for how ECE leaders can build loyalty among families. And that includes staffing.
"You can't have a conversation about family retention and family loyalty without having a conversation about staff retention and staff loyalty," Jamie says.
Teachers play such a pivotal role in establishing family culture and family loyalty and family retention. And when it comes to creating family loyalty, it's all about culture, experience and connection.
Jamie also walks us through how to not fall victim to the biggest factors why families choose to leave a child care center: concerns about quality of care, communication gaps between staff and families and cost-related issues.
Learn more about Jamie and the work she's doing at www.aim4impact.org!
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Episode Transcript
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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 the Child Care
Business Podcast.
My name is Leah Woodbury.
I'm the head of content here atProCare Solutions, and we are so
happy to have all of you join ustoday.
And we're thrilled to have onthis episode, Jamie Rechemmer.
She is the founder.
She's a founder of Aim forImpact Consulting.
(01:16):
So her work includes helpingchild care centers with QRIS,
compliance, professionaldevelopment, curriculum,
assessments, technology.
It's a lot.
Everything in between.
Jamie has worked at some of thelargest child care organizations
in the country, and she chairsthe AI and Machine Learning
Advisory Board at Watch Me Grow.
(01:37):
Jamie, welcome.
We're so glad you're joining ustoday.
SPEAKER_02 (01:39):
Thank you, Leah.
Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_01 (01:43):
And today we're going to be talking about
something that a lot of childcare centers are worrying about
or want to know how theyimprove, and that is building
loyalty and how centers canbetter do family retention in
their ECE programs, in theirdaycares.
(02:03):
And this is something that Jamiehas some expertise on.
And before we get started,started on that.
We always like to start theseconversations by getting a
little background on our guests.
Jamie, I'm wondering if youcould tell us how you became
involved in ECE and chose it asyour career path.
SPEAKER_02 (02:18):
Absolutely.
I am an ECE lifer.
(02:48):
And from there, my career hastaken a lot of different twists
and turns.
So I have been a child caredirector.
I've written curriculum forearly education.
I've worked in early ednonprofit.
But for most of my career, I wasan executive in early education
for, like you said, some of thelarge companies.
(03:09):
And my area of the business wasalways related to kids and
families and teachers andquality.
And so the topic of familyengagement and family loyalty
and family retention, superimportant to me because all of
the areas of the operations thatI focused on were the ones that
hopefully contributed to thatfamily loyalty being
(03:32):
established.
SPEAKER_01 (03:34):
Yeah.
So let's shift to today.
Let's focus on how our listenerscan keep those families happy.
So we here at ProCare Solutions,we do an annual report every
year on child care businesstrends.
And one interesting stat fromthis year was that about 40% of
the respondents to the surveythat we used to write the
report, they said they're facingchallenges with maintaining
(03:57):
consistent enrollment.
And I'm curious if you can kindof Use your expertise to tell us
like what are the reasons thatso many centers are struggling
with enrollment right now?
SPEAKER_02 (04:08):
I think that, you know, probably we would all
agree that one of the largestfactors and enrollment
challenges today is consistentstaffing.
And so you can't have aconversation about family
retention and family loyaltywithout having a conversation
about staff retention and staffloyalty.
But also, you know, having gonethrough the pandemic, families
(04:32):
were forced very quickly tofigure out other solutions,
things that they may not haveconsidered.
At the same time, employersbecame much more compassionate
and thoughtful and listened moreabout the challenges that
families had finding childcare.
(04:53):
And so I think that there havebeen some really creative
solutions that families havebeen able to find.
we find childcare in a lot ofsettings outside of the
traditional childcare program.
We've got pre-K, we've got HeadStart, we've got Early Head
Start, you've got nonprofit,faith-based, family, there's
(05:14):
just so many options forfamilies to choose.
And I think families are a lotmore discriminating in looking
for, you know, not just programsthat are affordable, but
programs that really representthe values of their families and
And so they're looking moredeeply into the choices.
(05:38):
So I think there's a lot ofdifferent reasons.
SPEAKER_01 (05:41):
Yeah.
And it does seem like there's alot of focus maybe on growing
enrollment, but not as much onmaking sure current families are
happy and that they're notlooking or not maybe looking
down the street or elsewhere.
Why do you think that is, thatthat focus is so different when
it is so important to them?
retain those families.
SPEAKER_02 (06:04):
You know, I have a couple of ideas.
One, you know, when I think ofacquisition of families, I think
of that as being a task of anadministrator.
That's the front office.
It's the director.
It's the person who's greetingthe family in the door.
It's the owner.
It's the operator, right?
(06:25):
The acquisition of the family isup at the front of the house,
whereas the retention offamilies is really at the back
of the house.
It's the teachers.
It's the experience that thefamilies are having in the
classroom.
It's the children's, you know,joy of walking in the door and
running to their teacher andhaving a great day.
(06:46):
But really, I mean, if we getdown to it, who's probably
listening to this conversation?
It's the administrators.
We talk about enrollment infamilies with the
administrators.
But it's really the teachersthat play such a pivotal role in
establishing family culture andfamily loyalty and family
(07:08):
retention.
So I think part of thisconversation starts with who's
at the table when we're puttingtogether strategies for family
retention.
I think that also...
When it comes to retaining afamily, when it comes to
creating family loyalty, that isall about culture and all about
(07:31):
experience and all aboutconnection.
And it's happening every singleday.
And sometimes you don't realizethat there's a breakdown in
those things until it's alreadybroken.
And so you're scrambling torepair something rather than
proactively really making itstrong day after day after day.
(07:53):
And, and I think that, you know,there's a lot to be said for
once a family loses trust intheir childcare provider, it's,
it's really tough to gain itback.
And so it could be under thosecircumstances that the real
energy expended to acquire a newfamily seems to be the right
energy.
(08:14):
But I think we would all agree,absolutely not.
It costs so much more to acquirea new family.
It's so much harder on the childand the family and the childcare
provider and the teacher to seethis churn of families.
It changes everything about theclassroom experience and the
classroom environment.
And so really focusing onretention of families and
(08:37):
creating a culture where theyfeel welcomed and where they
feel like they belong is one ofthe best investments you can
make in your business.
SPEAKER_01 (08:45):
Well, I was just thinking as I'm getting ready
for this podcast, my youngestjust wrapped up preschool like a
year ago.
And the number of times that Italked to his teachers compared
to the director, I mean, it was10 to 1 that I was talking to
the teachers versus, yeah,somebody in an office.
And I think that sometimes doesget lost.
(09:05):
So I'm really glad you broughtthat up.
Yep.
And I'm also curious how theexpectations of today's families
change.
differ than families of maybe 10years ago, five years ago,
whatever metric you think is agood one for comparison.
SPEAKER_02 (09:21):
You know, I think that, um, I think that our world
has changed so much in the pastfive years that I'm not sure
looking back a decade ago wouldgive us much more than
historical insight.
But I think that we candefinitely talk about ways that
(09:42):
families have changed theirexpectation.
I remember when we used to thinkabout affordability, when we
used to think about convenience,when we used to think about word
of mouth referrals and and whenyou know if your neighbor or
your colleague or your bestfriend was a family in the child
(10:04):
care program then then that wasa great place for you to be so
much has changed about ourcommunities to start with um
that that for me one of thethings that has changed is how
much families put weight on theconnection that they establish
with their child care program.
(10:25):
And it starts with that veryfirst visit.
It starts with every interactionthat they have in that first
week or that first 30 days.
And families are really wantingto feel rooted and grounded in
this place where they drop theirchild off every day.
And so, you know, whereas costmight have been and still is of
(10:47):
tremendous importance.
It's not the only consideration.
As it relates to cost too, Ithink that families are
certainly much more in tune withthe value of their investment.
So it's not just whether or notthey can afford it, but it's
whether or not they feel likethey're getting everything that
(11:08):
you promised them when you walkthrough the door, right?
And so we give a great tour andwe talk about all of the
wonderful things about ourprogram, but our parents are
expecting to see it and feel itevery single day.
And so when they don't, it's notabout whether I can afford it.
(11:28):
It's about whether or not thisis the right place to be putting
my dollars in care for mychildren, right?
And then, you know, I think thatwe have to talk about, you know,
health, safety, sanitation, allcritically important.
But our families, today'sparents, are much more informed
(11:52):
about what quality earlyeducation looks like We have
quality rated improvement in somany states.
And those states have bigcampaigns where they teach our
families what do we look for inquality care.
Child care is in the mediaoften.
And, you know, there is often alot of positive stories about
(12:13):
the impact of early education aswe're advocating for more
funding and all of those typesof things.
And so parents know what to lookfor.
And so the quality...
The communication and the cost,I think, are three things that
are just at the top of the listfor families, whereas there was
(12:33):
a time where it may have been alittle different than that.
UNKNOWN (12:38):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (12:39):
So let's talk about the reasons that families do
make that decision to leave achild care center.
And you found the biggestfactors are concerns about
quality of care, communicationgaps between staff and families
and cost related issues like wejust talked about.
So I wonder if we can break downeach one and maybe start with
(13:01):
quality of care.
SPEAKER_02 (13:03):
Sure.
Quality is where my heart is.
That's, you know, in each of myroles across early education,
quality has always been abenchmark of what I hoped to
deliver and what my team, youknow, is really looking for.
As I mentioned, most of ourstates have QRIS programs that
kind of define qualitybenchmarks for us.
(13:25):
But certainly we're talkingabout, you know, really rich,
developmentally appropriateenvironments that are full of
lots of great toys.
One of my favorite, favoritementors ever, you know, used to
talk about the toy store effectand how when a child or a family
member walks into a classroom,you really want them to take a
breath at just how magical thatspace is the same way that they
(13:51):
would take a breath if theywalked into their favorite toy
store, you know, because play ishow we teach and play is how
children learn.
And so you want that sensestepping through the door that
the This is a magical playgroundwith everything that we might
ever want to do inside.
And also that all the people inthe room are lots of fun to play
(14:11):
with too.
So those interactions betweenchildren and teachers and those
interactions between childrenand each other.
You talked about your benchmarksurvey and I remember a survey
that I read once and I don'trecall who the author of the
survey was, but It was askingparents, you know, what is your
(14:32):
biggest worry when you go to bedat night?
What is your biggest worry?
And it was that their child isliked, you know, that their
child has friends.
And so that's one of the thingsthat we promise families in our
early education programs is wepromise that your kid's going to
(14:52):
have such a great time andthey're going to make so many
friends.
And so really encouraging.
showcasing the interactionsbetween teachers and children
and children and children umanother you know element of
quality and then certainly thecurriculum um that that any
program chooses and And thereare lots of great curriculums
(15:13):
out there.
And there are even more reallytalented teachers who build
curriculum as children'sinterests emerge and day by day
by day.
But knowing developmentallyappropriate practice and
celebrating milestones andhaving really rich experience
for kids, those are all thingsthat parents look for.
(15:35):
One of the difficulties though,Leah, is that they can't always
see it, right?
They're not there all day long.
So we have quality benchmarks,but we don't have a really great
way of making sure that familiessee those quality benchmarks.
you know, the kind of segue intocommunication is we got to have
(15:55):
a great methodology for how weshare those moments.
And it might be video streamingcameras.
It could be, you know, digitalplatforms where we send photos
and notes about daily routines.
But hopefully it's also thoseconversations that you've said
you had with your child inpreschool, 10 to 1, right?
(16:17):
Every day we should havesomething really great to
celebrate about kids.
UNKNOWN (16:21):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:21):
Yeah, yeah.
Where do you think thosecommunication gaps start?
Is it just that teachers are sobusy?
Is it that families maybe don'tknow the right questions?
That's
SPEAKER_02 (16:33):
a really
SPEAKER_01 (16:34):
good question.
SPEAKER_02 (16:35):
Yeah, it's a tough
SPEAKER_01 (16:35):
one, I think.
SPEAKER_02 (16:36):
It's a really great question.
You know, I think it starts,unfortunately, right now, it
starts with our just tremendousteacher turnover in early
education.
There isn't enough time toreally form a trusting
relationship.
And it's not just there's notenough time in the day.
(16:57):
There aren't enough days becauseteachers, unfortunately...
come and go, but frankly, so dofamilies.
We were talking about enrollmentand retention, and one of the
consequences of family retentionrates that are low is that you
have that churn of families.
(17:18):
And so you don't get toestablish this great
communication cadence.
I think another really importantthing to bring to the table is
that kind of dynamic betweenfamilies and teachers.
And in my best experiences,there is not a hierarchy there
whatsoever at all.
(17:39):
It is...
Totally and completely apartnership.
And families are teachers andteachers are family.
And we are both here in order toprovide the best for kids.
And to do that, we have to talkto one another and trust one
another and accept one another'sstrengths, but also really build
(18:00):
each other's opportunities up,right?
Yeah.
But all of that does take time.
And most of our familyrelationships exist, you know,
between 7 and 8 a.m.
and between 5 and 6 p.m.
And everybody comes at the sametime.
And you're either really busy toget to work or you're really,
really tired from work and youwant to go home.
(18:22):
Like there's just not a lot ofreally quality work.
opportunities to engage in greatcommunication with families and
so we have to be intentional asas operators as or you know as
directors as teachers we have tobe intentional but i think we
also have to really make itclear to our families that we
(18:44):
need them to be intentional aswell right we need them to to
really want to get to know usand want to be part of this
wonderful experience that we'remaking for their child
SPEAKER_01 (18:56):
Yes.
Yes.
It's because it is true.
And everybody's always pickingup at the same time or dropping
off at the same time.
It's all, it's, it felt like itwas never staggered either.
SPEAKER_02 (19:08):
You know, as you mentioned that as a parent
coming in, there were probablyalso a lot of days that you
didn't see the same teacher inthe morning and in the
afternoon.
Because, you know, we forgetthat we are trying to staff, you
know, sometimes a 12 or 14 hourday with traditional working
(19:29):
hours.
And that doesn't always line upvery well.
And then because we've got suchtremendous responsibilities to
ratios and group sizes andthings like that, you know,
those very early early morninghours and those late afternoon
hours, sometimes there is a lotof movement, whether classroom
(19:49):
movement or teacher movement orkid movement, whatever it might
be.
There's a lot of moving parts tomake it all work for everyone.
And so as much as we rely on thein-person communication and how
critical that is for connection,which our families are looking
for, We also need to be veryintentional about our digital
processes, whatever they mightbe.
(20:11):
You know, very consistentlysending home the same
information day after day sothat parents reliably get those
tidbits that they're lookingfor.
And then being sure, too, asteachers, that we make a
commitment to communicate withone another about the families.
You know, if you're going to seeone of the little families, you
(20:34):
know, in the afternoon and I wasthere in the morning, you need
to know what I saw in themorning so that you can share
that information with them sothat there's no gap in, in
understanding because of thetime of drop off and pick up and
our work schedules and thingslike that.
SPEAKER_01 (20:51):
Yeah.
All right.
Let's go to the third one.
Um, cost related issues.
How's that affecting loyalty?
Our pocket books, the pocketbooks, all of them.
SPEAKER_02 (21:03):
Well, you know what?
Like, The cost conversation,there are so many stakeholders,
right?
Like there's...
There's the cost of actualquality.
Like, what does it really costto deliver what children and
families deserve in earlyeducation?
There is the cost or rather theexpense that families can truly
(21:27):
afford.
And then there is kind of thatmore maybe ethereal idea of, is
this expense worth it?
Am I getting...
is it worth it not just in am Igetting value and good stuff for
my kiddos, but also the thingsthat I have to do to earn the
(21:47):
money for this service, thetransportation that I have to
pay for to get back and forthfrom this service for my child.
There's just so many parts toit, right?
We could have hours and hoursand hours of conversation just
on cost.
But I think when it comes tofamily loyalty, You know,
families, when they enroll inyour program, they know what the
(22:12):
cost is, right?
It's their responsibility tomake sure it fits their budget.
And it's also yourresponsibility as an owner
operator to make sure thatfamily knows that just like any
other expense, When your costsgo up, so will your tuition,
right?
So that there's not thisunrealistic expectation that
(22:32):
from zero to five, I'm gonnahave the same expense related to
early education.
But I think that once theenrollment takes place, then the
retention and the loyalty comes.
And what I mentioned before isdo families see everything that
you promised for their childevery day, right?
(22:55):
And so I oftentimes will coachowners and operators and
directors, give me a tour andlet me make notes on all the
things that you promised me as apotential parent.
And then for the next couple ofdays, I'm gonna look for all of
those things in your program.
You know, I'm going to start bylooking for those things from 7
(23:18):
to 8 in the morning and 5 to 6in the afternoon.
Because that's when I'm in yourbuilding.
How much of what you promised medo I see during those times?
Then I'm going to look for allthose things throughout the day.
And I'm going to ask questionsabout how are you ensuring...
that mom and dad see thislearning experience?
How are you ensuring that momand dad know that soccer shots
(23:40):
happen?
How are you ensuring that momand dad see the sign language
that you're using in the infantroom?
And at that point, we starttalking with teachers about how
intentional they are about thosethings that were promised.
And, you know, Leah, sometimes Ifind out that the teacher's not
(24:01):
even necessarily aware of allthe things that were talked
about in the tour.
So they aren't even 100% sureexactly what they're supposed to
be doing, much less how they doit in such a high quality way
that it shines even when parentsaren't around.
You know, like, I mean, that's atough order.
So from a retention perspective,Cost is really about reframing
(24:26):
to value and to making sure thatfamilies see what they're
getting, making sure they knownot just what you are charging
them for tuition, But alsoknowing what you're investing
those dollars in, right?
You're investing it in yourstaff.
(24:48):
And so you've got staffqualifications and staff, you
know, continuing education.
You're investing it in safefacilities.
And so share with parents whenyou upgrade security systems,
when you install new ACs, whenyou have a tune-up on the bus,
because then they see theirdollars at work, right?
Right.
(25:08):
If you have differentiators likesoccer or Spanish or technology
or dance, those kinds of things,they're happening, but are
families noticing that they'rehappening?
And so how do you really makethose shine as well?
It's really all about makingyour families not just hear you
say that it's worth theirinvestment, but that they feel
(25:32):
it and they know it and they'repart of it.
SPEAKER_01 (25:36):
Well, and that's a great segue.
You beat me to my next questionis what center owners and
leaders should do to keep thosecurrent families happy.
And yeah, that seeing thatthey're getting what they pay
for and that their children arehappy.
And I think that's huge, butwhat else should they be doing?
SPEAKER_02 (25:56):
So I heard a quote the other day and it was, let me
say, connection is the currencyof for loyalty so connection is
the currency for loyalty so whatwe how we are able to connect
with people is kind of the thedividend that we get in return
(26:19):
is their loyalty their retentiontheir commitment you know those
types of things that we allabout connection and
relationships and and so i thinkthat we have to start with how
do we form those relationshipswith families And again, we talk
a lot in early education abouthow we form relationships with
(26:39):
kids.
There are tools that measure howsuccessful we are in our
interactions with our children.
I think to other agencies, I'msorry, to other industries and
how often Other industries, forexample, have a net promoter
score, right?
Would you recommend us?
(27:00):
And why?
What is it about your experiencethat's so positive?
Or they do customer servicetraining or customer service
surveys.
Because we have a really, reallyhard, hard job to serve kids, to
serve families, and to serveteachers.
Three very specific stakeholderswith very unique needs.
(27:21):
And so...
definitely want to focus on thatrelationship that we build with
families so that they feel seen,they feel heard, they're valued
every single day.
And remember that it's the daythat it doesn't happen that
(27:42):
families will remember, right?
So we could have a full calendarof getting it right.
And then that one day thatthere's a misstep or a missed
opportunity to connect with afamily, that's the one that's
gonna stick with them.
So being very consistent, Ireally recommend an onboarding
(28:03):
for families, the same way thatwe onboard staff.
You know, we might have, youknow, one day of really
intentional onboarding.
Then we have five days ofexperiences.
We do a check-in, we make aphone call, right?
Like those kinds of things arereally important to families
too.
And so having a plan for familyonboarding, making sure that
(28:24):
there are multiple touch pointsthe first 30 days, but also that
it's not just the director.
right, that it's the director,it's the teacher, your cook,
your bus driver, any adult whois gonna be involved with a
child should in those first 30days make a really intentional
effort to introduce themselves,to tell the family a story about
(28:48):
how they interacted with theirchild and started building that
friendship.
Like those are the core memoriesthat are gonna make everything
better when you miss anopportunity to connect down the
road, right?
I think personalizing theexperience, Leah, making sure
that you know not just thechild's name, but that you know
(29:12):
mom and dad's name, that youknow something about that family
and what's important to them,and not just where they work and
when they pay their bill, butthings that are interesting to
them.
I remember in my role acrossmultiple childcare centers, I
would visit our facilities,which means I didn't have those
relationships.
(29:33):
I didn't know families by name.
I didn't know children by name,and they didn't know me.
Now, the kids would always runup and ask, who are you?
And are you somebody's mommy?
And where do you live?
Like they would want to know alot about me.
Families would be very suspectof me, right?
They, why are you here?
Are you monitoring something?
Are you, are you with the state?
(29:55):
You know, they, they'd ask thosekinds of questions.
And so I just really took itupon myself to always introduce
myself to any adult that I cameacross, no matter who they were
and, and let them know who I wasand why I was there and, and
that I was, you know, really,really interested in their kids'
quality experience.
(30:16):
But what that showed even yearslater, right, because they
recognize or they remembered mebecause I made an effort.
So if I was in that program ayear later and they were in that
program a year later, chancesare that family would remember
me.
And that always made me feellike I'd done something right in
that first introduction.
Two more things come to mind.
(30:38):
One, like really special momentsfor families, you know, wow
moments for the families.
If you know that somethingreally cool happened, if there
was a promotion, if they'rehaving a family vacation, if
grandparents are in town, ifthey got yard of the month in
the neighborhood club, you know,those kinds of things that you
(30:58):
just hear in the hallways.
Yeah.
remember them and celebratethem.
Or even just sending thank younotes, check-in calls, you know,
how are things going?
Those mean a lot.
And then the last thing thatcomes to mind is really
authentically asking familiesfor feedback.
So I said, you know,partnerships are really
(31:19):
important and families need tofeel like they're part of their
child's learning experience.
And that means you've got to askthem, not just for the Google
review, but also you've got toask them, you know, how are
things going and what could wedo better and where are we
missing the mark and where arewe getting it right, you know,
and so that we can keep doingthose things.
(31:41):
But really asking for feedbackbecause I think that, That
families who feel seen and whofeel heard and who feel valued,
those are the families that staythrough thick and thin.
And that's what you really need.
SPEAKER_01 (31:56):
Absolutely.
Well, those are all thequestions I have.
Did I not ask you something Ishould have?
Or is there anything lefthanging that you think our
listeners might want to know?
Oh, man, that's always at you.
SPEAKER_02 (32:12):
Yeah, you read that question about how at the end of
the interview, you shouldalways, is there something I
didn't ask you that you wouldlike to tell me?
You know, I think that, I thinkmaybe just not avoiding hard
conversations, you know, and Ithink that's a life lesson for
us all in so many areas.
(32:33):
And we talk about that a lotwhen it comes to teacher
retention, but family retention,not avoiding the hard
conversations, But also don'tmiss the small signs that a
family is on their way out thedoor.
And some of the small signs, Ithink, you know, one, when
(32:56):
families go silent, I think thatthat's always an indication.
If they were knocking on yourdoor every day, all day long,
either with praise or withproblems, at least they were
knocking, right?
If they go silent, then you wantto check in on them and find out
what's going on.
And
SPEAKER_01 (33:19):
yeah, I think that's it.
I think that's it.
That's a great way to end it.
Like keeping those lines ofcommunication open and being
willing to hear the good, thebad, and the ugly.
That's right.
Hard conversations.
Jamie, thank you so much foryour time.
We really appreciate it.
Could you let our listenersknow...
where folks can find out moreabout you, your work.
(33:43):
Yes, I would love to do that.
SPEAKER_02 (33:45):
So I have launched kind of an independent business,
Aim for Impact, websiteaimforimpact.org.
And what that allows me to do isjust take all of the many
interests and experiences thatI've had in early education and
piece them into a jobdescription.
It's like the best of the bestopportunities.
(34:08):
But right now, I'm most proud ofsome of the work that I'm doing
with Watch Me Grow, a technologycompany in the ECE space.
And there's some greatinformation on their website
about the Machine LearningAdvisory Board and smart
observations and the way thatwe're imagining using video.
(34:28):
to retain teachers.
And we can have a whole notherconversation about how that
video experience, the real life,real time nature of it can be so
valuable for our families aswell.
So either of those places, youcan check me on my website or
learn more about the work I'mdoing at Watch Me Grow.
SPEAKER_01 (34:49):
Wonderful.
Well, thank you again.
Thank you to everybody who tookthe time to listen today.
And thank you to everybody outthere doing the important work
that you're doing in ECE.
And we know it's a hard job.
We at ProCare Solutions are soglad to support you.
And we'd like to say thank you,as we always do.
We hope you all have a greatday.
And we will see you on our nextepisode.
(35:12):
Bye, everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (35:14):
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 the Child Care
Business Podcast.
My name is Leah Woodbury.
I'm the head of content here atProCare Solutions, and we are so
happy to have all of you join ustoday.
And we're thrilled to have onthis episode, Jamie Rechemmer.
She is the founder.
She's a founder of Aim forImpact Consulting.
(01:16):
So her work includes helpingchild care centers with QRIS,
compliance, professionaldevelopment, curriculum,
assessments, technology.
It's a lot.
Everything in between.
Jamie has worked at some of thelargest child care organizations
in the country, and she chairsthe AI and Machine Learning
Advisory Board at Watch Me Grow.
(01:37):
Jamie, welcome.
We're so glad you're joining ustoday.
SPEAKER_02 (01:39):
Thank you, Leah.
Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_01 (01:43):
And today we're going to be talking about
something that a lot of childcare centers are worrying about
or want to know how theyimprove, and that is building
loyalty and how centers canbetter do family retention in
their ECE programs, in theirdaycares.
(02:03):
And this is something that Jamiehas some expertise on.
And before we get started,started on that.
We always like to start theseconversations by getting a
little background on our guests.
Jamie, I'm wondering if youcould tell us how you became
involved in ECE and chose it asyour career path.
SPEAKER_02 (02:18):
Absolutely.
I am an ECE lifer.
(02:48):
And from there, my career hastaken a lot of different twists
and turns.
So I have been a child caredirector.
I've written curriculum forearly education.
I've worked in early ednonprofit.
But for most of my career, I wasan executive in early education
for, like you said, some of thelarge companies.
(03:09):
And my area of the business wasalways related to kids and
families and teachers andquality.
And so the topic of familyengagement and family loyalty
and family retention, superimportant to me because all of
the areas of the operations thatI focused on were the ones that
hopefully contributed to thatfamily loyalty being
(03:32):
established.
SPEAKER_01 (03:34):
Yeah.
So let's shift to today.
Let's focus on how our listenerscan keep those families happy.
So we here at ProCare Solutions,we do an annual report every
year on child care businesstrends.
And one interesting stat fromthis year was that about 40% of
the respondents to the surveythat we used to write the
report, they said they're facingchallenges with maintaining
(03:57):
consistent enrollment.
And I'm curious if you can kindof Use your expertise to tell us
like what are the reasons thatso many centers are struggling
with enrollment right now?
SPEAKER_02 (04:08):
I think that, you know, probably we would all
agree that one of the largestfactors and enrollment
challenges today is consistentstaffing.
And so you can't have aconversation about family
retention and family loyaltywithout having a conversation
about staff retention and staffloyalty.
But also, you know, having gonethrough the pandemic, families
(04:32):
were forced very quickly tofigure out other solutions,
things that they may not haveconsidered.
At the same time, employersbecame much more compassionate
and thoughtful and listened moreabout the challenges that
families had finding childcare.
(04:53):
And so I think that there havebeen some really creative
solutions that families havebeen able to find.
we find childcare in a lot ofsettings outside of the
traditional childcare program.
We've got pre-K, we've got HeadStart, we've got Early Head
Start, you've got nonprofit,faith-based, family, there's
(05:14):
just so many options forfamilies to choose.
And I think families are a lotmore discriminating in looking
for, you know, not just programsthat are affordable, but
programs that really representthe values of their families and
And so they're looking moredeeply into the choices.
(05:38):
So I think there's a lot ofdifferent reasons.
SPEAKER_01 (05:41):
Yeah.
And it does seem like there's alot of focus maybe on growing
enrollment, but not as much onmaking sure current families are
happy and that they're notlooking or not maybe looking
down the street or elsewhere.
Why do you think that is, thatthat focus is so different when
it is so important to them?
retain those families.
SPEAKER_02 (06:04):
You know, I have a couple of ideas.
One, you know, when I think ofacquisition of families, I think
of that as being a task of anadministrator.
That's the front office.
It's the director.
It's the person who's greetingthe family in the door.
It's the owner.
It's the operator, right?
(06:25):
The acquisition of the family isup at the front of the house,
whereas the retention offamilies is really at the back
of the house.
It's the teachers.
It's the experience that thefamilies are having in the
classroom.
It's the children's, you know,joy of walking in the door and
running to their teacher andhaving a great day.
(06:46):
But really, I mean, if we getdown to it, who's probably
listening to this conversation?
It's the administrators.
We talk about enrollment infamilies with the
administrators.
But it's really the teachersthat play such a pivotal role in
establishing family culture andfamily loyalty and family
(07:08):
retention.
So I think part of thisconversation starts with who's
at the table when we're puttingtogether strategies for family
retention.
I think that also...
When it comes to retaining afamily, when it comes to
creating family loyalty, that isall about culture and all about
(07:31):
experience and all aboutconnection.
And it's happening every singleday.
And sometimes you don't realizethat there's a breakdown in
those things until it's alreadybroken.
And so you're scrambling torepair something rather than
proactively really making itstrong day after day after day.
(07:53):
And, and I think that, you know,there's a lot to be said for
once a family loses trust intheir childcare provider, it's,
it's really tough to gain itback.
And so it could be under thosecircumstances that the real
energy expended to acquire a newfamily seems to be the right
energy.
(08:14):
But I think we would all agree,absolutely not.
It costs so much more to acquirea new family.
It's so much harder on the childand the family and the childcare
provider and the teacher to seethis churn of families.
It changes everything about theclassroom experience and the
classroom environment.
And so really focusing onretention of families and
(08:37):
creating a culture where theyfeel welcomed and where they
feel like they belong is one ofthe best investments you can
make in your business.
SPEAKER_01 (08:45):
Well, I was just thinking as I'm getting ready
for this podcast, my youngestjust wrapped up preschool like a
year ago.
And the number of times that Italked to his teachers compared
to the director, I mean, it was10 to 1 that I was talking to
the teachers versus, yeah,somebody in an office.
And I think that sometimes doesget lost.
(09:05):
So I'm really glad you broughtthat up.
Yep.
And I'm also curious how theexpectations of today's families
change.
differ than families of maybe 10years ago, five years ago,
whatever metric you think is agood one for comparison.
SPEAKER_02 (09:21):
You know, I think that, um, I think that our world
has changed so much in the pastfive years that I'm not sure
looking back a decade ago wouldgive us much more than
historical insight.
But I think that we candefinitely talk about ways that
(09:42):
families have changed theirexpectation.
I remember when we used to thinkabout affordability, when we
used to think about convenience,when we used to think about word
of mouth referrals and and whenyou know if your neighbor or
your colleague or your bestfriend was a family in the child
(10:04):
care program then then that wasa great place for you to be so
much has changed about ourcommunities to start with um
that that for me one of thethings that has changed is how
much families put weight on theconnection that they establish
with their child care program.
(10:25):
And it starts with that veryfirst visit.
It starts with every interactionthat they have in that first
week or that first 30 days.
And families are really wantingto feel rooted and grounded in
this place where they drop theirchild off every day.
And so, you know, whereas costmight have been and still is of
(10:47):
tremendous importance.
It's not the only consideration.
As it relates to cost too, Ithink that families are
certainly much more in tune withthe value of their investment.
So it's not just whether or notthey can afford it, but it's
whether or not they feel likethey're getting everything that
(11:08):
you promised them when you walkthrough the door, right?
And so we give a great tour andwe talk about all of the
wonderful things about ourprogram, but our parents are
expecting to see it and feel itevery single day.
And so when they don't, it's notabout whether I can afford it.
(11:28):
It's about whether or not thisis the right place to be putting
my dollars in care for mychildren, right?
And then, you know, I think thatwe have to talk about, you know,
health, safety, sanitation, allcritically important.
But our families, today'sparents, are much more informed
(11:52):
about what quality earlyeducation looks like We have
quality rated improvement in somany states.
And those states have bigcampaigns where they teach our
families what do we look for inquality care.
Child care is in the mediaoften.
And, you know, there is often alot of positive stories about
(12:13):
the impact of early education aswe're advocating for more
funding and all of those typesof things.
And so parents know what to lookfor.
And so the quality...
The communication and the cost,I think, are three things that
are just at the top of the listfor families, whereas there was
(12:33):
a time where it may have been alittle different than that.
UNKNOWN (12:38):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (12:39):
So let's talk about the reasons that families do
make that decision to leave achild care center.
And you found the biggestfactors are concerns about
quality of care, communicationgaps between staff and families
and cost related issues like wejust talked about.
So I wonder if we can break downeach one and maybe start with
(13:01):
quality of care.
SPEAKER_02 (13:03):
Sure.
Quality is where my heart is.
That's, you know, in each of myroles across early education,
quality has always been abenchmark of what I hoped to
deliver and what my team, youknow, is really looking for.
As I mentioned, most of ourstates have QRIS programs that
kind of define qualitybenchmarks for us.
(13:25):
But certainly we're talkingabout, you know, really rich,
developmentally appropriateenvironments that are full of
lots of great toys.
One of my favorite, favoritementors ever, you know, used to
talk about the toy store effectand how when a child or a family
member walks into a classroom,you really want them to take a
breath at just how magical thatspace is the same way that they
(13:51):
would take a breath if theywalked into their favorite toy
store, you know, because play ishow we teach and play is how
children learn.
And so you want that sensestepping through the door that
the This is a magical playgroundwith everything that we might
ever want to do inside.
And also that all the people inthe room are lots of fun to play
(14:11):
with too.
So those interactions betweenchildren and teachers and those
interactions between childrenand each other.
You talked about your benchmarksurvey and I remember a survey
that I read once and I don'trecall who the author of the
survey was, but It was askingparents, you know, what is your
(14:32):
biggest worry when you go to bedat night?
What is your biggest worry?
And it was that their child isliked, you know, that their
child has friends.
And so that's one of the thingsthat we promise families in our
early education programs is wepromise that your kid's going to
(14:52):
have such a great time andthey're going to make so many
friends.
And so really encouraging.
showcasing the interactionsbetween teachers and children
and children and children umanother you know element of
quality and then certainly thecurriculum um that that any
program chooses and And thereare lots of great curriculums
(15:13):
out there.
And there are even more reallytalented teachers who build
curriculum as children'sinterests emerge and day by day
by day.
But knowing developmentallyappropriate practice and
celebrating milestones andhaving really rich experience
for kids, those are all thingsthat parents look for.
(15:35):
One of the difficulties though,Leah, is that they can't always
see it, right?
They're not there all day long.
So we have quality benchmarks,but we don't have a really great
way of making sure that familiessee those quality benchmarks.
you know, the kind of segue intocommunication is we got to have
(15:55):
a great methodology for how weshare those moments.
And it might be video streamingcameras.
It could be, you know, digitalplatforms where we send photos
and notes about daily routines.
But hopefully it's also thoseconversations that you've said
you had with your child inpreschool, 10 to 1, right?
(16:17):
Every day we should havesomething really great to
celebrate about kids.
UNKNOWN (16:21):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:21):
Yeah, yeah.
Where do you think thosecommunication gaps start?
Is it just that teachers are sobusy?
Is it that families maybe don'tknow the right questions?
That's
SPEAKER_02 (16:33):
a really
SPEAKER_01 (16:34):
good question.
SPEAKER_02 (16:35):
Yeah, it's a tough
SPEAKER_01 (16:35):
one, I think.
SPEAKER_02 (16:36):
It's a really great question.
You know, I think it starts,unfortunately, right now, it
starts with our just tremendousteacher turnover in early
education.
There isn't enough time toreally form a trusting
relationship.
And it's not just there's notenough time in the day.
(16:57):
There aren't enough days becauseteachers, unfortunately...
come and go, but frankly, so dofamilies.
We were talking about enrollmentand retention, and one of the
consequences of family retentionrates that are low is that you
have that churn of families.
(17:18):
And so you don't get toestablish this great
communication cadence.
I think another really importantthing to bring to the table is
that kind of dynamic betweenfamilies and teachers.
And in my best experiences,there is not a hierarchy there
whatsoever at all.
(17:39):
It is...
Totally and completely apartnership.
And families are teachers andteachers are family.
And we are both here in order toprovide the best for kids.
And to do that, we have to talkto one another and trust one
another and accept one another'sstrengths, but also really build
(18:00):
each other's opportunities up,right?
Yeah.
But all of that does take time.
And most of our familyrelationships exist, you know,
between 7 and 8 a.m.
and between 5 and 6 p.m.
And everybody comes at the sametime.
And you're either really busy toget to work or you're really,
really tired from work and youwant to go home.
(18:22):
Like there's just not a lot ofreally quality work.
opportunities to engage in greatcommunication with families and
so we have to be intentional asas operators as or you know as
directors as teachers we have tobe intentional but i think we
also have to really make itclear to our families that we
(18:44):
need them to be intentional aswell right we need them to to
really want to get to know usand want to be part of this
wonderful experience that we'remaking for their child
SPEAKER_01 (18:56):
Yes.
Yes.
It's because it is true.
And everybody's always pickingup at the same time or dropping
off at the same time.
It's all, it's, it felt like itwas never staggered either.
SPEAKER_02 (19:08):
You know, as you mentioned that as a parent
coming in, there were probablyalso a lot of days that you
didn't see the same teacher inthe morning and in the
afternoon.
Because, you know, we forgetthat we are trying to staff, you
know, sometimes a 12 or 14 hourday with traditional working
(19:29):
hours.
And that doesn't always line upvery well.
And then because we've got suchtremendous responsibilities to
ratios and group sizes andthings like that, you know,
those very early early morninghours and those late afternoon
hours, sometimes there is a lotof movement, whether classroom
(19:49):
movement or teacher movement orkid movement, whatever it might
be.
There's a lot of moving parts tomake it all work for everyone.
And so as much as we rely on thein-person communication and how
critical that is for connection,which our families are looking
for, We also need to be veryintentional about our digital
processes, whatever they mightbe.
(20:11):
You know, very consistentlysending home the same
information day after day sothat parents reliably get those
tidbits that they're lookingfor.
And then being sure, too, asteachers, that we make a
commitment to communicate withone another about the families.
You know, if you're going to seeone of the little families, you
(20:34):
know, in the afternoon and I wasthere in the morning, you need
to know what I saw in themorning so that you can share
that information with them sothat there's no gap in, in
understanding because of thetime of drop off and pick up and
our work schedules and thingslike that.
SPEAKER_01 (20:51):
Yeah.
All right.
Let's go to the third one.
Um, cost related issues.
How's that affecting loyalty?
Our pocket books, the pocketbooks, all of them.
SPEAKER_02 (21:03):
Well, you know what?
Like, The cost conversation,there are so many stakeholders,
right?
Like there's...
There's the cost of actualquality.
Like, what does it really costto deliver what children and
families deserve in earlyeducation?
There is the cost or rather theexpense that families can truly
(21:27):
afford.
And then there is kind of thatmore maybe ethereal idea of, is
this expense worth it?
Am I getting...
is it worth it not just in am Igetting value and good stuff for
my kiddos, but also the thingsthat I have to do to earn the
(21:47):
money for this service, thetransportation that I have to
pay for to get back and forthfrom this service for my child.
There's just so many parts toit, right?
We could have hours and hoursand hours of conversation just
on cost.
But I think when it comes tofamily loyalty, You know,
families, when they enroll inyour program, they know what the
(22:12):
cost is, right?
It's their responsibility tomake sure it fits their budget.
And it's also yourresponsibility as an owner
operator to make sure thatfamily knows that just like any
other expense, When your costsgo up, so will your tuition,
right?
So that there's not thisunrealistic expectation that
(22:32):
from zero to five, I'm gonnahave the same expense related to
early education.
But I think that once theenrollment takes place, then the
retention and the loyalty comes.
And what I mentioned before isdo families see everything that
you promised for their childevery day, right?
(22:55):
And so I oftentimes will coachowners and operators and
directors, give me a tour andlet me make notes on all the
things that you promised me as apotential parent.
And then for the next couple ofdays, I'm gonna look for all of
those things in your program.
You know, I'm going to start bylooking for those things from 7
(23:18):
to 8 in the morning and 5 to 6in the afternoon.
Because that's when I'm in yourbuilding.
How much of what you promised medo I see during those times?
Then I'm going to look for allthose things throughout the day.
And I'm going to ask questionsabout how are you ensuring...
that mom and dad see thislearning experience?
How are you ensuring that momand dad know that soccer shots
(23:40):
happen?
How are you ensuring that momand dad see the sign language
that you're using in the infantroom?
And at that point, we starttalking with teachers about how
intentional they are about thosethings that were promised.
And, you know, Leah, sometimes Ifind out that the teacher's not
(24:01):
even necessarily aware of allthe things that were talked
about in the tour.
So they aren't even 100% sureexactly what they're supposed to
be doing, much less how they doit in such a high quality way
that it shines even when parentsaren't around.
You know, like, I mean, that's atough order.
So from a retention perspective,Cost is really about reframing
(24:26):
to value and to making sure thatfamilies see what they're
getting, making sure they knownot just what you are charging
them for tuition, But alsoknowing what you're investing
those dollars in, right?
You're investing it in yourstaff.
(24:48):
And so you've got staffqualifications and staff, you
know, continuing education.
You're investing it in safefacilities.
And so share with parents whenyou upgrade security systems,
when you install new ACs, whenyou have a tune-up on the bus,
because then they see theirdollars at work, right?
Right.
(25:08):
If you have differentiators likesoccer or Spanish or technology
or dance, those kinds of things,they're happening, but are
families noticing that they'rehappening?
And so how do you really makethose shine as well?
It's really all about makingyour families not just hear you
say that it's worth theirinvestment, but that they feel
(25:32):
it and they know it and they'repart of it.
SPEAKER_01 (25:36):
Well, and that's a great segue.
You beat me to my next questionis what center owners and
leaders should do to keep thosecurrent families happy.
And yeah, that seeing thatthey're getting what they pay
for and that their children arehappy.
And I think that's huge, butwhat else should they be doing?
SPEAKER_02 (25:56):
So I heard a quote the other day and it was, let me
say, connection is the currencyof for loyalty so connection is
the currency for loyalty so whatwe how we are able to connect
with people is kind of the thedividend that we get in return
(26:19):
is their loyalty their retentiontheir commitment you know those
types of things that we allabout connection and
relationships and and so i thinkthat we have to start with how
do we form those relationshipswith families And again, we talk
a lot in early education abouthow we form relationships with
(26:39):
kids.
There are tools that measure howsuccessful we are in our
interactions with our children.
I think to other agencies, I'msorry, to other industries and
how often Other industries, forexample, have a net promoter
score, right?
Would you recommend us?
(27:00):
And why?
What is it about your experiencethat's so positive?
Or they do customer servicetraining or customer service
surveys.
Because we have a really, reallyhard, hard job to serve kids, to
serve families, and to serveteachers.
Three very specific stakeholderswith very unique needs.
(27:21):
And so...
definitely want to focus on thatrelationship that we build with
families so that they feel seen,they feel heard, they're valued
every single day.
And remember that it's the daythat it doesn't happen that
(27:42):
families will remember, right?
So we could have a full calendarof getting it right.
And then that one day thatthere's a misstep or a missed
opportunity to connect with afamily, that's the one that's
gonna stick with them.
So being very consistent, Ireally recommend an onboarding
(28:03):
for families, the same way thatwe onboard staff.
You know, we might have, youknow, one day of really
intentional onboarding.
Then we have five days ofexperiences.
We do a check-in, we make aphone call, right?
Like those kinds of things arereally important to families
too.
And so having a plan for familyonboarding, making sure that
(28:24):
there are multiple touch pointsthe first 30 days, but also that
it's not just the director.
right, that it's the director,it's the teacher, your cook,
your bus driver, any adult whois gonna be involved with a
child should in those first 30days make a really intentional
effort to introduce themselves,to tell the family a story about
(28:48):
how they interacted with theirchild and started building that
friendship.
Like those are the core memoriesthat are gonna make everything
better when you miss anopportunity to connect down the
road, right?
I think personalizing theexperience, Leah, making sure
that you know not just thechild's name, but that you know
(29:12):
mom and dad's name, that youknow something about that family
and what's important to them,and not just where they work and
when they pay their bill, butthings that are interesting to
them.
I remember in my role acrossmultiple childcare centers, I
would visit our facilities,which means I didn't have those
relationships.
(29:33):
I didn't know families by name.
I didn't know children by name,and they didn't know me.
Now, the kids would always runup and ask, who are you?
And are you somebody's mommy?
And where do you live?
Like they would want to know alot about me.
Families would be very suspectof me, right?
They, why are you here?
Are you monitoring something?
Are you, are you with the state?
(29:55):
You know, they, they'd ask thosekinds of questions.
And so I just really took itupon myself to always introduce
myself to any adult that I cameacross, no matter who they were
and, and let them know who I wasand why I was there and, and
that I was, you know, really,really interested in their kids'
quality experience.
(30:16):
But what that showed even yearslater, right, because they
recognize or they remembered mebecause I made an effort.
So if I was in that program ayear later and they were in that
program a year later, chancesare that family would remember
me.
And that always made me feellike I'd done something right in
that first introduction.
Two more things come to mind.
(30:38):
One, like really special momentsfor families, you know, wow
moments for the families.
If you know that somethingreally cool happened, if there
was a promotion, if they'rehaving a family vacation, if
grandparents are in town, ifthey got yard of the month in
the neighborhood club, you know,those kinds of things that you
(30:58):
just hear in the hallways.
Yeah.
remember them and celebratethem.
Or even just sending thank younotes, check-in calls, you know,
how are things going?
Those mean a lot.
And then the last thing thatcomes to mind is really
authentically asking familiesfor feedback.
So I said, you know,partnerships are really
(31:19):
important and families need tofeel like they're part of their
child's learning experience.
And that means you've got to askthem, not just for the Google
review, but also you've got toask them, you know, how are
things going and what could wedo better and where are we
missing the mark and where arewe getting it right, you know,
and so that we can keep doingthose things.
(31:41):
But really asking for feedbackbecause I think that, That
families who feel seen and whofeel heard and who feel valued,
those are the families that staythrough thick and thin.
And that's what you really need.
SPEAKER_01 (31:56):
Absolutely.
Well, those are all thequestions I have.
Did I not ask you something Ishould have?
Or is there anything lefthanging that you think our
listeners might want to know?
Oh, man, that's always at you.
SPEAKER_02 (32:12):
Yeah, you read that question about how at the end of
the interview, you shouldalways, is there something I
didn't ask you that you wouldlike to tell me?
You know, I think that, I thinkmaybe just not avoiding hard
conversations, you know, and Ithink that's a life lesson for
us all in so many areas.
(32:33):
And we talk about that a lotwhen it comes to teacher
retention, but family retention,not avoiding the hard
conversations, But also don'tmiss the small signs that a
family is on their way out thedoor.
And some of the small signs, Ithink, you know, one, when
(32:56):
families go silent, I think thatthat's always an indication.
If they were knocking on yourdoor every day, all day long,
either with praise or withproblems, at least they were
knocking, right?
If they go silent, then you wantto check in on them and find out
what's going on.
And
SPEAKER_01 (33:19):
yeah, I think that's it.
I think that's it.
That's a great way to end it.
Like keeping those lines ofcommunication open and being
willing to hear the good, thebad, and the ugly.
That's right.
Hard conversations.
Jamie, thank you so much foryour time.
We really appreciate it.
Could you let our listenersknow...
where folks can find out moreabout you, your work.
(33:43):
Yes, I would love to do that.
SPEAKER_02 (33:45):
So I have launched kind of an independent business,
Aim for Impact, websiteaimforimpact.org.
And what that allows me to do isjust take all of the many
interests and experiences thatI've had in early education and
piece them into a jobdescription.
It's like the best of the bestopportunities.
(34:08):
But right now, I'm most proud ofsome of the work that I'm doing
with Watch Me Grow, a technologycompany in the ECE space.
And there's some greatinformation on their website
about the Machine LearningAdvisory Board and smart
observations and the way thatwe're imagining using video.
(34:28):
to retain teachers.
And we can have a whole notherconversation about how that
video experience, the real life,real time nature of it can be so
valuable for our families aswell.
So either of those places, youcan check me on my website or
learn more about the work I'mdoing at Watch Me Grow.
SPEAKER_01 (34:49):
Wonderful.
Well, thank you again.
Thank you to everybody who tookthe time to listen today.
And thank you to everybody outthere doing the important work
that you're doing in ECE.
And we know it's a hard job.
We at ProCare Solutions are soglad to support you.
And we'd like to say thank you,as we always do.
We hope you all have a greatday.
And we will see you on our nextepisode.
(35:12):
Bye, everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (35:14):
Until next time.
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