Editor's note: Ms. Kramer is responding to the BayToday article titled Percentage of early childhood educators in Ontario child care declining, despite goal.
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To the editor:
I’m a passionate Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) in Toronto.
I’ve worked in the field for 9 years, and I have seen the good, the bad, and the terrible over the years.
A lot of promises were made by the government, and by many employers, which were often not fulfilled. I agree with the article, and I have left certain work environments due to the lack of paid sick days, no retirement savings options, low wages that do not match the high costs of living in the Greater Toronto Area, or which have a lack of health benefits.
I have also witnessed centres with a revolving door of staff coming and going. As a result of not being able to fill the spaces with qualified and trained staff, centres hired non-ECE staff or were forced to use external agencies to hire different ECE substitutes to fill the spots on a daily basis, which created a less-than-ideal environment for children.
Having had conversations with Childcare Directors and Supervisors, it was clear that their hands are often tied in terms of budgeting, and therefore they are not able to raise pay, offer benefit packages, or renovate centre spaces. These are some underlying issues that lead to staff burnout, and many people don’t see the point in staying in the profession for a small salary while facing these challenges.
This also prevented the centres’ supervisors from covering the costs for staff workshops, guest speaker events for personal development, and resources needed for children with exceptionalities.
I often heard from co-workers: “It’s not worth it to lose my mind over this and put so much work into it for this pay.” I myself experienced burnout and was forced to make a decision: Do I stay in the field, or do I leave? I decided to stay, and after years of moving around from one centre to the next, I finally found an amazing centre.
I hope that things will change for the better in Toronto and the rest of Ontario before it’s too late because Early Childhood Educators deserve to be treated better and given more respect.
Natalie Kramer
Toronto
