Read the following scenarios. Decide whether the adults are in compliance with ratio guidelines for your workplace. Regardless of compliance is the situation a problem? Finally, think of solutions; What should the team members have done? What would prevent the problem in the future?

1. You and Shayla work together in a preschool classroom. You are pregnant and experiencing morning sickness. You’re not ready to tell anyone at work yet. This morning, you felt especially ill and had to run to the adult restroom during the morning meeting. There were 13 children in the classroom at the time.

   Compliance: No. When you left, the ratio was 1:13. That is above most standard preschool ratios of 1:12 or 1:10.

   Problem: Yes

   Solution: Communicate. You must talk to Shayla and your administrator. You do not need to reveal the details, but you must let them know that you have medical needs. You put children at risk when you leave the classroom out of ratio.

    
2. You and two other adults are supervising 20 preschool children. During free play this morning, you turn to ask your co-teacher, Marsha, a question. You cannot find her in the classroom. Through the vision panels in the door, you see her in the hallway on her cell phone. She did not say a word to you or the other adult before stepping out.

   Compliance: Yes. There are two adults and 20 children. This meets a standard 1:10 ratio.

   Problem: Yes.

   Solution: Communicate. It is not ok for Marsha to leave the room without telling her co-workers. Schedule a meeting and say, “Marsha, it made me really nervous when I couldn’t find you in the classroom today. It didn’t feel safe. Can we talk about ways to let each other know when we need to step out? It’s important that we make eye contact and make sure we all know where the adults and children are at all times.”

    
3. You are in charge of the evening care program at your center. Your shift usually begins at 6pm, but you are running a few minutes late this evening. “I’ll make it by 6:02,” you tell yourself, so you do not call your administrator. When you arrive, you see a small group of children playing on the playground—but you do not see an adult with them. You immediately tell the front desk as you move towards the playground. Somehow, the staff person covering the 10am- 6pm shift left without telling anyone. She was alone with children, and surveillance cameras were running. You cannot believe it.

   Compliance: No. Children must NEVER be left unsupervised. This is a serious risk.

   Problem: Yes.

   Solution: Communicate. Everyone bears some responsibility in this situation. You should have notified an administrator that you would be late. The staff person from the previous shift should have stayed past her shift or called for help. The cameras should have been monitored better, so an administrator knew children were alone. Your team must report this incident right away to your administrator or center director. You must develop a plan for preventing this serious risk in the future.

    
4. Dominic is a new co-teacher in your classroom. He’s doing a nice job jumping into the classroom routine, but you have a few concerns. He seems to struggle with paperwork. You’ve had to remind him several times to check children in on the attendance roster. Today his shift started before yours. When you arrived at work, none of the children in the classroom had been entered on the daily attendance roster.

   Compliance: No. If you do not have clear records of how many children are present, you cannot be sure you are complying with ratio.

   Problem: Yes.

   Solution: Record Keeping and Communication. Talk together about the importance of maintaining accountability for all children. Brainstorm ways to remind each other to complete paperwork: hang a reminder near the clock or sign-in binder or ask you administrator to do random spot-checks.

    
5. It is 9:05 a.m. on the morning after a holiday. Your numbers are very low; only 3 children have arrived. You and your co- teacher, Chloe, are both in the room.

   Compliance: Yes. Your classroom is well within all standard ratios.

   Problem: Yes; too many adults for the number of children can be a strain on resources.

   Solution: Communicate. Notify your administrator of your numbers. Depending on your program’s policies regarding one adult supervising groups of children, one of the adults may be needed elsewhere.