Please Help Me Support Our Preschool Teachers

May I tell you a story?

I want to tell you about some people in my community. They are like so many people in yours. 

These wonderful, loving people have an average of 12 other children at their child care center who look to them as a second Mom or Dad. They are my Preschool teachers.  These children depend soley on them to love them, educate them, and keep them safe while their parents are away at work - at our center that can begin as early as 6 o'clock in the morning.  They spend around 10 hours a day committed to treating their center children like their very own. 

I was their childcare center's Director. I have seen  these Preschool teachers give everything they have to every child in our center day in and out. It didn't matter whose class they were in or who was responsible for them. All of the children in the center was loved and care for by every teacher. It is the heart of these beautiful people that has allowed the childcare center we worked for to thrive for almost 30 years.

No one knew that in a matter of months, our childcare center would have to close its door for a prolonged period and these amazing people would be out of a job. No one had any idea that a virus would cause so much damage to our center families and staff and we would see such a dramatic decline in enrollment. The community was not prepared for loss of jobs, closing of business, and for a drop to only 40% of our enrollment.  We couldn't know that within a 4 month time frame, the childcare center would go from thriving and expanding to closed. What I know now is that our Preschool teachers need our help. They need to be able to survive until the center reopens, and I've created this campaign to ask you for help for them.


Something horrible happened. 

Coronavirus (covid 19). My husband always says to me- "shouldn't covid 19 be written in all caps?" That's how he has seen it            written on so many government documents. I always respond, "No, I refuse to give it even that much reverence." To me, covid 19 is an enemy the does not deserve the respect of capitalization or punctuation. It is a wicked enemy that deserves only defeat, and that defeat should be that is doesn't get to hold a place of prominence in our language. It shouldn't get the courtesy of being  written in the pages of our encyclopedia because it is a destroyer. 

covid 19 has come in and destroyed the lives of so many wonderful people. It has come into our community and robbed families of their loved ones, stolen their jobs, replaced happiness and joy with fear and anxiety, and shattered dreams for those who had built prosperous businesses. 

Our childcare center closed on March 11th 2020, when covid 19 showed up in our local school district. Our plan was to do a deep  clean of the facilities just in case the virus had already entered. We thought it was possible because at the time, it seemed everyone was sick. There were a number of illnesses in the center and they just wouldn't go away. Knowing there were confirmed  cases of covid 19 within our district's schools  and community, we thought it best to close and clean.
That same evening, the Governor put a stay-at-home order in place. Things seemed infinitely more real to us. As an essential            worker, I drove all over Conroe, Montgomery, Huntsville, and The Woodlands trying to find no contact thermometers. I couldn't order them online. I couldn't get face masks, and at the moment, even the gloves we normally order were just out of stock. We were not able to reopen without the proper supplies.  Even with a letter from the State, we could not get stores to give us enough cleaning materials or food supplies for the center. They had limits on items, and store managers would not or could not budge. We had to remain closed longer. 

I had to decide how to care for the center community.

Like many other businesses in the area, we were shuttered. Fortunately the center had a world class accountant who was able to help get the Paycheck Protection Program in place, and we were able to take care of our Preschool Teachers. 

Many childcare centers in our state were closing their doors because they couldn't get the PPP to help with expenses or were charging parents a reduced weekly or monthly holding fee for their children who were not attending. They were trying to keep the lights on. The center's philosophy was as a ministry, we take care of our people in times of hardship.

Leadership believed it was the center's mission to take care of our Preschool Teachers and relieve the financial burden of our families who could  not be served by during this time. Many families had to rely on relatives or hire help to keep their children while they worked  from home. To avoid adding additional financial strain, leadership chose not to charge our families while we were closed. Many were already struggling with furloughs or layoffs. 

I tried to get things going again. 

On May 18th, the program reopened, and the Governor released the State from stay-at-home orders, so we expected more of our families would be returning to work. However, while the State reopened, State Authorities and Child Care Regulations were still following CDC guidance and had restrictions on who could be served at this time. For two weeks, we could only serve children of  essential workers. Ratios were limited, and I struggled to staff the center while staying in compliance for a full 10 hours so parents could work. Our enrollment was low, but our hope was high. We believed our families would start trickling back in as businesses reopened, and they returned to work.

Leadership put safety measures in place. Many were concerned with a childcare environment that included teachers wearing masks, parents not being able to drop off students in the building, temperature checks every two hours, and screening questions for students and staff before entering the building, but my loving Preschool Teachers accepted the challenge and made sure that every student remembered who they were. They reminded them with their voices and their laughter. They reassured them with their eyes and their hugs. Yes, my teachers were still hugging their children. Yes, they were still holding them when they cried, and yes, we all knew we had to be very careful. We knew that covid 19 lurked and could go undetected, but my Preschool Teachers pushed onward. They served with their whole hearts. They put themselves out there for every student as they always had before. They sacrificed their social lives and their safety to  ensure every child felt safe and loved!!

We struggled. With all of those precautions in place, I could not keep covid 19 out. Our teachers were getting sick. The center closed,  cleaned, got everyone tested. We came back, determined to fight it. Determined to defeat covid 19 - keep it out of our center, keep it away from our children. We tried. We tried so hard, we fought and fought, and covid 19 wouldn't be beat. Families kept getting laid off, teachers kept getting sick, families were getting sick, cases started rising in the area, and the center doors have closed again. 

I really need your help. 

The center closed again.     For the semester.     I just couldn't keep the virus out. The center couldn't sustain the financial strain and now  has to be closed to be able to reopen in the future. 

I have shared this story because I need your help. I can't leave my Preschool Teachers behind. My husband and I decided to withdraw from my Roth IRA to get this gofundme effort started. He knows how much I love my Preschool Teachers. He knows that they need us. The people who work in the Early Childhood Education industry do not get nearly the amount of respect or pay they deserve. We don't want to lecture, we just want to make you aware. This industry sees an average hourly wage of just $13. Most have no medical insurance, and no retirement plan. They don't have a union to protect them. They are barely making ends meet. 

My Preschool Teachers are amazing human beings. They give everything to every child they meet, and they love each one with their whole hearts. The closing has crushed them. They are grieving right now, and I can't do anything to mend their hearts. But I  want to try with everything in me to help them financially. Some have just purchased a home- a dream they've had for so long. A dream they worked and saved for. Some have medical issues and their need their income to cover medication. Some have senior parents they help support. Please help me. Help me keep them from falling through the cracks. Please help me show them that we see them, and we appreciate them. I know this is not your responsibility, but please, please help me show them that they will not be left behind. Please donate and share this campaign with everyone you know. 

I am trying to support 26 teachers. The money raised from this campaign will be divided and sent directly to the teachers to help them with their expenses while the center is closed. Thank you in advance for your support. I can not thank you enough!

Love and light, 

Angela St. Julien and Family