ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 26, 1997 TAG: 9701270121
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
It's a scene that's played out countless times every hour in day care centers across Virginia.
But for two little boys at Children's Discovery Center, a church-affiliated day care in Roanoke County, it's no small thing.
"That's my PlayDoh," one 4-year-old says.
``I got it," the other answers.
Carolyn Coble, down on her knees picking up a spilled box of crayons, quickly leans over and breaks up the little tussle, gently reaching in to take temporary custody of the squishy stuff.
"We've got to share," Coble says soothingly. "There's no sense fussing."
There's no more reaching and grabbing. A tearful moment is averted.
Soon four boys and girls are laughing and enjoying their PlayDoh, using molds to press out Christmas tree and animal shapes. Two other boys play happily beside them with jousting horses and 2-inch-tall knights.
Everybody knows that taking care of kids takes a good measure of patience and plenty of energy, but not everyone agrees about the other requirements for working in or running a day care.
The day-to-day realities of caring for children have been in the news lately as the state Child Day Care Council has voted to loosen licensing requirements. In response, some state legislators have moved to reverse the governor-appointed council's rule changes.
Two bills now being considered by the General Assembly would block the council's attempts to ease staffing rules and to reduce education requirements for day care staffers.
The council has voted to drop a requirement that lead teachers have at least a high school diploma. It also has voted to increase the maximum teacher-child ratio for "mixed aged" groups of 3-to 6-year-olds from one teacher for every 12 children to one for every 15 children.
Critics say the council's moves would put children at risk. They say the job of caring for kids is so challenging - and so important - that reasonable rules on staff training and staffing levels are needed.
When news of the changes hit in October, the president of the Virginia Association for Early Childhood Education called the council's efforts to weaken day care regulations "a giant leap backward" that "puts us in danger of warehousing children."
But supporters say the changes won't hurt children, and that the free market is the best protector of kids. Reducing regulation, they argue, will allow more day care centers to open, and give parents more choices.
"We feel like parents are the ones who should be choosing what they think is best for their kids," says Karen Oliver, program director for Honeytree, a chain of five Roanoke Valley centers. "The parent is the market. If the parents are unhappy with the care at the center, they would be the ones who made that choice, and make or break the center."
Day care centers are different from other businesses, Oliver says. The customers - that is, parents - visit at least twice a day. Honeytree centers have one-way mirrors that allow parents to watch their kids any time.
Others argue that many parents are already struggling to find day care or pay for it. This makes it hard for parents to walk away from a day care center, even if they have concerns.
Carolyn Wooten, director of Children's Discovery Center on Peters Creek Road, worries about the rule changes. As a church-affiliated day care, her center is exempt from most state regulations, but it generally exceeds state requirements anyway, she says.
For example, the state requires a maximum ratio of one teacher for every 12 4-year-olds, but the center has two teachers for the 14 children in its 4-year-old classes.
Wooten thinks the staffing and teacher-education requirements should stay as they were.
She worries about kids in day care centers with low staffing. At the same time, her center - which charges $80 to $100 a week - has to compete with centers that may be able to charge less by providing lower-quality care.
"But at least I sleep better at night knowing that I'm not going to be responsible for a child getting really hurt or a lawsuit on my hands," Wooten says. "It's an awesome responsibility."
Wooten prefers to hire high school graduates as lead teachers, because a big part of the job is talking with parents.
"I can see a difference in someone who has and hasn't graduated from high school - just in their communication skills with people," she says.
Carolyn Coble has been working at Children's Discovery Center for six years. She is a high school graduate who attends an average of two training workshops a year, and has completed one college-level course.
She has eight 4-year-olds in her class. For Bear Week at the center, they spend their time talking about bears and reading bear stories.
At the start of the day, four kids color bears at the classroom table. Two others play with Middle Ages action figures.
Nine o'clock approaches, and it is time for the Pledge of Allegiance and a Bible story.
Coble tells the kids to clean up. Some move faster than others.
"Hey, look," she says. "Evan and Zye have already cleaned up their stuff. And you guys are still sitting here at the table."
Then she says, "Y'all find your names," and the children start moving in the direction of names taped in a semi-circle on the floor.
Some dance or hop around. Coble starts to count: "One, two..."
``...Three," a little girl named Morgan finishes, and the children find their way to their names.
For much of the morning, the talk is about the tea party they are planning. The guests will be their favorite stuffed bears. One child promises to bring his polar bear.
The morning is good for Coble and her class. The kids are well-behaved and seem to be having fun.
Coble likes the size of her class. It gives her the time to give personal attention. Too many more would be a challenge.
"When I need to leave the classroom, I say, 'OK, follow me.' But I have just eight. I don't have 15 or 20 chasing behind me."
Fifteen kids is "just too many," she says. "I could handle it. We all could handle it. It's just hard."
Like Coble's center, Honeytree centers say they generally have better staffing levels than the state requires. Honeytree cares for about 800 kids at its five centers. Four were built from scratch to meet Honeytree's classroom, kitchen and playroom needs.
Oliver, the program director, says some state requirements are needed - building codes, fire inspections and rules about what medications day care centers can give kids.
But other regulations aren't helpful, she says. "Governor Allen has been going down the path of less regulation, and we think that's good."
In the past, Oliver says, Honeytree has received waivers from the state to hire center directors whose credentials didn't meet "the letter of the regulations," and they did a terrific job. "We've also hired directors and teachers who had degrees - the piece of paper - and they weren't capable of doing the job."
There are some teachers who can handle 20 kids easily, Oliver says. "Then you have other teachers who can barely handle five."
The two bills on child care before the General Assembly are HB 2171 dealing with staff-to-children ratios and HB 2165 dealing with educational requirements. To leave a message for state legislators on these or any other bills, call (800)889-0229 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays or write c/o General Assembly Building, Richmond 23219. To track the status of bills on line, visit our General Assembly web site at www.roanoke.com
LENGTH: Long : 138 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JANEL RHODA STAFF. Carolyn Coble, a teacher at theby CNBDiscovery Child Center, helps Zye Reindhardt (left) and Nik Hunt
glue bear puppets. The children's bear party Friday morning included
bear cookies, ice cream and bear games. color. KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997