Daycares in the area getting slammed by COVID-19 staffing shortages

CRANBERRY, Pa. — The Omicron variant is hitting daycares hard. Right now, a daycare in the North Hills has a very long wait list for families because they are short staffed and can’t find teachers.

Little Appleseed Learning Center with locations in Mars and Gibsonia is just one of many daycares facing challenges in western Pennsylvania.

“Right now, we are experiencing a shortage of employees. Unfortunately, we have a very long wait list,” said the daycare’s owner, Beth Vislosky.

The owner told Channel 11 the omicron variant has a lot to do with this. In the past two months, they’ve had to shut down both locations at least twice due to an increase in Covid-19 cases among kids and teachers.

She also said with the staffing shortages, they can’t have more kids at the daycare which makes it difficult for parents who are going back to work in person to find childcare.

“We have a long wait list right now, about four pages long of parents wanting who really do need care right now,” said Vislosky. “They check in weekly to see if we’ve been able to hire. Unfortunately, we haven’t found those right qualified teachers right now.”

The learning center in Mars has more than 50 families on the wait list. At the Gibsonia location in Treesdale, Vislosky said they are completely full and have a two year wait list.

Right now, they need at least 5 or 6 more teachers, some part time and full time. They’ve only had a few applications and some no shows to interviews. Channel 11 asked the owner why people aren’t applying for the job.

“I think people are scared of the coronavirus. We are doing everything we can to protect the children and our families. We are still wearing masks every day. We require the parents and children to wash their hands upon arrival to try to cut down on the germs,” said Vislosky.

Right now, the daycare is looking for teachers with at least two years of early education experience or people who have an early childhood education degree.

Westmoreland County daycare choosing to reopen slowly to keep everyone safe Westmoreland County daycare choosing to reopen slowly to keep everyone safe

©2022 Cox Media Group