TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — In the words of Dolly Parton, many folks who work 9-to-5 to make a living can get by with traditional childcare hours, but what happens if you work the night shift or even overnight and need childcare?
There’s a huge part of the workforce in the Tampa Bay Area who work odd end hours — there’s about 167,000 people in hospitality and leisure, and more than 152,000 people make up the military and defense here, according to census data.
There are not many options for them.
WATCH: Why industry leaders say after-hours care is not readily available
I went to Steps to Maturity Learning Center in the University area to talk about the issue.
Lydia Sams, the owner, was sitting right alongside the kids at her facility.
“These kids bring me joy. They bring me peace; they bring me happiness. I love them. They love me. And that's the way it's going to be,” Sams said with a laugh.
“I’ve been rhyming all week. My school-age kids in the afternoon say Mrs. Lydia, you can rhyme! I said OK I’m going to be a rapper one day,” said Sams.
For now, Sams will enjoy her “pretend” breakfast made by her extremely talented kids.
It’s a whole lot of fun hanging out with Sams and the kids, but playing is also extremely educational.
“They learn their math, their science, we’re not just babysitting, we’re teaching,” Sams said. “This is a learning center, we’re teaching the kids so they’re prepared and ready when they go to kindergarten.”
“The children being able to socialize, being able to express themselves, that emotional intelligence is so needed, and they learn that here by telling them, and I tell my children all the time in my class, tell them how you feel, tell them what you need,” said Program Director Kristy Sams, Lydia’s daughter.
It highlights yet again. Why early education is so important, but as working parents — sometimes your schedule doesn’t match up with the hours of operation.
“We are actually licensed until midnight. However, we don't have enough staff to maintain those hours, and I can't do it by myself because I have to go home, recharge with my own family,” said Kristy. “So many times we have had the need for it, but we just don't have the help to do it.”
The teacher shortage is a big factor — low pay and a lack of benefits may be why. Lydia also thinks because the ratio of kids to teachers is lower for infants, 1-and 2-year-olds, the shortage is even greater there.
“If we could stabilize the workforce and increase the wages and also have that breathing room for the business and the owner and operator, I think that we will start to see more programs. There's funding out there where you can apply for it, but you also have to be able to execute the programming,” said Marni Lebowitz, who oversees the Quality Early Education System at Hillsborough College.
Lebowitz told me the college offers many programs to help support and invest in early childhood educators.
And while Lydia is hopeful more people are talking about the childcare crisis now, she said with a laugh, “It should have been on the top of the list from the get-go because no childcare, no job. People cannot work without childcare. You can't take the kids to work with you, right, Heather? Right.”
Lebowitz agrees.
“If you have hundreds of early childhood providers in Hillsborough County that are committing their time on their own to figure out ways to do things better, that brings me great hope,” she said.
And as we see the conversation around early education grow, this past Thursday, the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County held its annual Education of Young Children Summit.
It was at the Motor Enclave and it was a sold-out event! It just goes to show how many business leaders, policy makers and community influencers are getting in on the conversation.
Share Your Story with Heather
Heather Leigh was born and raised in Tampa Bay. She’s invested in telling stories from Seminole Heights and Ybor City and helping you find affordable childcare. Send Heather a message with any ideas you’d like to share.
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