April Message from Deb
Our Invaluable Staff
If there is a single reason why PIC is so loved, it is most definitely our teachers! I hear it from parents day after day, and through comments in our family feedback survey year after year.
For all of our 38 years, PIC has placed a high value on its staff. In fact, the largest portion of PIC’s annual budget is always salaries, benefits, and training.
In the 2015-2016 fiscal year, 66% of total expenses was dedicated to supporting staff.
In addition to a significantly-higher-than-average compensation and benefits package, we offer added attraction and retention benefits, such as financial assistance to teachers pursuing their education, tuition assistance for those enrolling their own children at PIC, opportunities for advancement, and many professional development opportunities.
One of the greatest issues facing the field of early childhood education is the lack of qualified teachers, primarily because this continues to be an undervalued and undercompensated field. All significant early childhood accreditation organizations now call for teachers who work with young children to have specialized training and degrees in early childhood education.
How can we, as a field, encourage the pursuit of higher degrees, when there is no sign of appropriate compensation upon graduation? The answer to this critical issue can only be through public investment.
Qualified teachers of young children are in demand now more than ever before, and we continue to work hard to be a place that early childhood teachers choose to work.
At PIC, we have a group of educated, smart, loving, caring, community-minded, and professional teachers who are unmatched in their field. Each year, we ask you to join us in celebrating our teachers.
This year we will honor PIC teachers during Staff Appreciation Week, April 24 - 28 (which also coincides with the national Week of the Young Child). Stay tuned for details on ways you can show them some love!