ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – One Upper Peninsula school district says the need for childcare is growing—along with the need for qualified employees.
Mid Peninsula School launched its daycare program about seven years ago.
“It was mainly off my staff need to start with,” said Principal and Superintendent Eric VanDamme. “My staff had young kids and they needed a place for their children during the workday.”
In the years since, the need for childcare in the area has gradually increased.
“We started out with only a few kids and one staff member with a sub, and now we always have two members even during our slowest time because of the staffing requirements of the 0 – 2 and the 2 – 4-year-old ranges,” VanDamme explained.
VanDamme says the demand has grown significantly post-pandemic.
“A lot of jobs went to remote and could stay at home and be with their families more,” he said. “As more jobs transitioned back to a work site, I think that increased need in daycare. We’re looking to improve that access for folks in our community.”
According to VanDamme, daycare staff can be difficult positions to fill. Mid Peninsula is currently seeking another part-time employee.
“It’s a flexible position, so it’s not a consistent full-time,” he said. “It’s as we have the need. We have found it rather difficult, but we’re doing fine. It’s just the challenge of finding the right fit to work with our kids.”
For that right person, VanDamme says it is a worthwhile job. He says it is also the beginning of a years-long investment into each child’s education and development.
“We have a set curriculum that we use in daycare that goes right into our GSRP program,” said VanDamme. “That goes right into our kindergarten. They go right through our elementary side, then it moves into that middle school band. We have an early middle college program as well. So theoretically, we could take them from a day old til the time they have an associate’s degree and do our best to take care of all of their needs.”
Anyone interested in a daycare job at the Mid Peninsula School District can contact Eric VanDamme at evandamme@mpswolverines.com or by calling 906-359-4387, then pressing option 2.
