Friday (Short) Stories on The Goldenrod
Our new biweekly round-up of quick-hitting trends, events and insights: from Kentucky's childcare crisis to (yep!) Grippo's pizza
We’re trying something new this week on The Goldenrod: a round-up of shorter stories, trends and voices that are a little bit less wordy, but still pack a punch. If it resonates with folks, we’ll make it a regular Friday event with even more op-eds, opinions, discussions and quirky columns. For example, one element I’ve always envisioned is an “Ask a Mamaw” advice section, so if you’re looking to be our resident enlightenment-slinging granny, leave a comment below and we’ll talk.
“One Long, Tiring Journey These 18 Months”
Kicking off our new Friday roundup is a group of people essential to our children and their future, but who are consistently glanced over by elected officials and even educational leaders: early childhood workers and caregivers. It’s made headlines quite a bit lately that the people doing care-work for the smallest and most vulnerable among us are leaving the industry in droves for bettering paying jobs and a greater sense of respect. And who can blame them? I have a two-and-a-half year old, and the amount of patience and kindness it would take to wrangle a dozen of my daughter on a daily basis deserves some sort of childcare version of the Nobel Peace Prize—even under the least taxing of pre-pandemic conditions. But add COVID to the mix and Kentucky’s lack of a mask mandate in daycares—which causes a constant cycling of exposures and closures—and it’s difficult to image how every childcare worker isn’t completely frazzled. Give them all CEO-level pay.
What’s more, in Kentucky’s rural areas, we have a serious lack of childcare options to begin with, and most positions assuredly don’t pay the $12/hour that the Washington Post reports is the national average. As the Appalachian Early Childhood Network points out:
In Appalachian Kentucky, 19 of 54 counties have fewer than five child care centers, with four counties only having one, and none in Martin County. In Owsley County, the only licensed program is a Head Start, operating from 7:30-2:30, which does not necessarily support working parents. Though Kentucky is one of many states with a child care assistance program, which reimburses child care providers who accept children from low-income families, the program is underfunded, causing a major strain on child care providers who are not being reimbursed enough to cover their services.
Back in January, early childhood caregivers weren’t even considered “essential workers”—and thus not eligible for the vaccine early on—even though K-12 educators were. (That was reversed when a petition went around pointing out that policy choice was, uh, ludicrous.)
Below we hear from four childcare providers across the region about the biggest challenges they’re facing right now. Let’s make an effort to push our community leaders to begin talking about early childhood caregiving with the same gravitas (and funding!) given to K-12 education.
Haleigh Messer, Carter Childcare and Early Learning Center, Carter County
The biggest problem we are facing right now is low enrollment and staff not wanting to work. I am afraid parents are scared to send their children to daycare due to sickness. We have been through several workers in the past few months and people just don't want to work. It's hard on a small business like us, but we are surviving and want the best for our children in care.
Tony Guagliardo, Versailles Montessori School, Woodford County
The most significant issues for Versailles Montessori School are testing for COVID, temporary closings, quality staff and enrollment.
When a child exhibits symptoms that mirror other illnesses, some parents don't want to put their child through the uncomfortable PCR test as frequently as we need to ensure we aren't bringing in a delayed onset. COVID has a 14-day infectious period, so when symptoms arise, we require a PCR test between days 5-7 and 12-14. During the past 18 months, tests were negative on the first round then positive on the second round. Families have withdrawn because of our testing protocol. If a less invasive yet reliable test was available, I believe those families would remain enrolled.
Families struggled with our 14-day quarantine protocol, with several leaving over it. Instead, they keep their child home, and a spouse is either working from home or not working. We have just modified our protocol to ten days but are still keeping the above testing schedule. That is still a burden for the parents.
In July, I needed four new staff. I posted on Indeed: $15/hour, benefits, etc. Of 165 applicants, over 90 were rejected simply from Facebook posts that wouldn't pass a parent review. Many others simply didn't have the qualifications. Once I narrowed it down to 12 applicants, several were no-shows, and I barely found the four I needed to hire. This month, one applicant didn't work out, and I reran an ad. Facebook ruled out many. Several didn't reply once I requested an interview, another no-show, and finally found one for employment.
Enrollment decreased from 100 students last year to 79 currently. We run toddlers through elementary. In years before COVID, we had two toddler rooms with 12 children each and 2 early childhood education (ECE) rooms with 26-28 children in each. Currently, we have one toddler room with 12 children and two ECE rooms with 21 and 17 children, respectively. Elementary has 29 students total.
This has been one long, tiring journey these past 18 months. I, like everyone, am ready for a return to the good ol' days of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015...pick an earlier time of your choosing.
Name Withheld, Beattyville Early Childhood Center, Lee County
Some of the biggest challenges here during COVID are the fear of having to close due to an exposure and the effect this has on working parents and employees who need their paycheck. I have had two employees in quarantine and this puts a tremendous strain on my workforce.
Another concern for me is the effect COVID could have on my health and that of my employees. The state is raising reimbursement rates for state-paid children which is good, but not for all families who struggle to make ends meet. I also worry about the higher rates not being sustainable.
Carrie Wilson, Little Hands Learning Center, Mason County
My biggest challenge is finding and keeping staff that want to work.
Why Did Some County Prison Rates Rise During COVID?
Kentucky’s county jails have a serious overcrowding issue, as well documented in (among other places) this extremely thoughtful investigative series on the bleak situation in Madison County from the team at the Herald-Leader back in 2019. Which is why it seems troubling that while most county jails reduced the number of inmates between February 2020 and September 2021 due to COVID protocols, a report by the Vera Institute found that a handful of jails across the region actually continued to increase the number of inmates by a significant percentage.
(Image via The Vera Institute)
Most striking among these is Knox County, where the jail population has gone up a whopping 42.4 percent over the past 19 months. (Knox County jailer Mary Hammons did not return my request for comment.)
In Floyd County, jailer Stuart “Bear” Halbert told me that isolation and psychological distress among local residents were primary reasons that arrests and incarceration continued apace throughout the pandemic. And since, according to Halbert, “things are worse than ever” with COVID in the county, he didn’t anticipate much improvement anytime soon.
Laurel County jailer Jamie Mosley had a different explanation for the rise in inmates: they’re actively bringing in and holding federal prisoners from Tennessee at the Laurel County Correctional Facility as a means of creating revenue. Mosley says that if the federal prisoners weren’t taken into account, the number of incarcerated locals would’ve actually decreased since the beginning of the pandemic. (For those keeping track, Mosley also created CrossBar Electronic Cigarettes: a company which sells vaping products specifically to inmates.)
EKY Mini-Food Trend: Grippo’s Pizza?
A small food trend seems to have emerged across Eastern Kentucky: the rise of Grippo’s pizza. From Pizza Pro in Manchester to Pantry Shelf Donuts in Hazard, this oddball, novelty combination Grippo’s potato chips under a layer of extra cheese on top of—yes—a regular pepperoni pizza has recently gained something of a cult following. Is this the next chili bun? Stay tuned for more chip-on-pizza developments.
(Image via Pantry Shelf Donuts’ Facebook)
We’ll be back tomorrow with thoughts on this week’s Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) Summit in Corbin—including an interactive element that you’re sure to want to share with friends. Actually, why not go ahead and encourage them to sign up now?