ok ladies, advice please, school closures...
- 06-20-2009, 01:08 PM #1
ok ladies, advice please, school closures...
as many of you already know, i run a playgroup centre. i decided to follow the gov't and close for the 2 weeks. i'm now facing a HUGE dilemma.....
i want to do the right thing and follow the gov't recommendatioins.... i have the feeling that they will extend the closures when they make their announcement on tuesday.
my problem:
my playgroup is a VERY small business, it is my sole source of personal income. (our other source of income is another "at home" business.) we NEED the income from the playgroup to cover our monthly bills.
IF the gov't decides to extend the closures, what should i do? i can't very well close the schools when there are only 50 cases of the flu and then reopen them when there are hundreds...
should i leave it up to the parents to decide? have them book a class if they want to still come but not be penalised if they don't book/come?
any ideas or suggestions please? i'm not in the business for the money, however, i do need the money to pay my bills.....
argh!!!!!!!!!!!
- 06-20-2009, 01:15 PM #2Registered User
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- Aug 2008
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- Canada
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ARe you required to close your school? If not, keep it open.
- 06-20-2009, 01:25 PM #3
no, not required...we have been closed already for the past week...plan on closing next week, too....
thing is, i don't know how many, if any, would even come if i was open.... i'd prefer to follow the gov't guidelines, but financially, don't know how long i can stay closed for....
- 06-20-2009, 01:36 PM #4Registered User
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hi cara
i agree with babymummy.
my mindset after two weeks of school closures is i am gasping for activities for my kids! we are in the middle of moving flats so i can't do much with the kids, and i can't imagine how frustrated working parents are or parents of kids whose helpers are frantic keeping track of playdates, activities, etc.
would it be any use of you to feel out your tried and true clients? give them a call and say, "if i stayed open, would you enrol?" that will give you a taste of the mindset.
good luck.
- 06-20-2009, 01:47 PM #5
i was thinking of sending out an email to everyone, asking if i opened would they enroll, no pressure. i would have aminimum # of kids per class and if we didn't get the minimum, then i would not have the class....(i couldn't call then all as there are over 80 kids coming per week)
is that reasonable?
- 06-20-2009, 01:48 PM #6
i have two kids myself, and to be honest, they love being at home. i haven't had a probelm with that at all. i'm not even doing anything special with them while home, just the norm...
- 06-20-2009, 01:50 PM #7Bumps Guest
Hi, firstly, thank you for doing the right thing in my mind by closing even though you don't technically have to do so. I understand it is your source of income and this must be frustrating for you. In my previous thread I was having a gripe about a playgroup that appears to be taking advantage of this situation and advertising for more students to enrol during this time....That I am really not happy about and will not ever go to this playgroup and as I said will be spreading the word to other moms.
In your case, you are not milking the situation. Perhaps you could reduce the number of students who attend each class and have only a couple of classes a week so parents can see you are still concerned about the spread of infection. Make it know to parents you are doing so that you have time to disinfect the premises thoroughly before the next class. But then again could you imagine if one of your students contracted the virus? I think that would be even worse for your business long term than closing for another week to be quite honest as all parents would have to be notified.
- 06-20-2009, 01:58 PM #8
i think long term, i would do better not reopening, as parents will know i have their child's best interest at heart...
but seriously tough financially.....may even have to resort to trying to get a loan or borrowing from family....argh!!!!!
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