Preschool Graduation at 9:30am

My youngest goes to a full time daycare/preschool and will be “graduating” in a few weeks. The calendar says graduation will be after 4pm. Apparently I missed a one-liner in last month’s newsletter that the graduation is now 9:30. I just learned about the time switch today. I’m a teacher. Our last day of school is the same day as her graduation and we end at 10.

Why on earth would they schedule a graduation early in the morning at a school where all the parents are full time working parents? And why wouldn’t you make the announcement really damn big if you were changing it from what has been on the calendar all year? I usually love her daycare, but this just sucks.

There are complicating factors as to why I may not be able to just call in sick that day, and while I’m working with my kid’s preschool to see if there’s any way to shift the time, I feel nauseous thinking that I may miss her graduation. She’s my youngest, I’m already emotional about my baby starting kindergarten, and now…this.

ETA: The original calendar said 4:30–I checked. The change just happened. Additionally, each of the other younger classes (2s, 3s, young 4s) all have their “moving up” ceremonies earlier that week at 4:30. The change for my kid’s class is sudden and anomalous, which is why I’m so frustrated.

My work situation is complicated. If I have to, I’ll end up missing work to attend the ceremony, bc my children do come first. But the whole thing could have been avoided if they just stuck to the original schedule!
 
@searchingforchrist How is your attendance? How much shit would you be in if the night before, you suddenly had a major bout of diarrhea? Maybe some covid symptoms too? Oh shit it is 6 AM and you can’t even make it out of bed? That cough is nasty
 
@duke87 With her being a teacher, I think that would be really crappy to do to her students. I just know my son would be heartbroken if he thought he’d see his teacher on the last day of school and then she wasn’t there for him to say goodbye.

Either way it sucks for her. I hope they’re able to switch the time.
 
@duke87 Might not just be about the kids. In my friend’s school district if you miss a day attached to a break then you lose retirement credit for the whole year. I’m sure there are exceptions (which likely require some proof/documentation).
 
@minoue Not a teacher, but my old job was VERY stingy with PTO compared to other similar companies in the area, but fairly generous with sick leave. People abused that enough that they had to make it a rule that you’d better be dying if you stack a sick day with a long weekend 😓
 
@duke87 I agree. I was simply giving another perspective. If her students are older then they probably won’t care if she’s not there. My son’s last day of kindergarten was just last week and he cried on the last day because he didn’t want to leave his teacher, so I’m probably just basing my perspective on that.

If it were me missing his preschool graduation I’d also be heartbroken. Either way it sucks.
 
@borisv My mom is a kindergarten teacher and if she missed the last day without so much as a warning to her kiddos, they’d be heartbroken. Not saying a child wouldn’t be heartbroken about her mother not being at her “graduation,” but people are acting like teachers should just say “f these kids I’ve spent the past year molding” since their kids come first. The situation sucks regardless.
 
@mitoch0ndria People are being really harsh in response to my comment for some reason. I never said she should choose her students over her own kid. I just said it’s sad either way.
 
@borisv My perspective for the responses to your post being so harsh is because a ridiculous amount of people in society, especially in the US, still believe teachers should sacrifice literally everything to take care of their students, even their relationships with their own children. Working mom guilt is hard enough without having the added guilt and pressure from people saying “but your students will be heartbroken.” Maybe they will for like 10 minutes, but it’s not a teacher’s responsibility to sacrifice their own child’s milestones because of the students. Teachers already sacrifice plenty. So while I understand where you were coming from, I think you’re catching heat because it seemed like you were saying that a teacher should prioritize her students feelings on their last day of school instead of their own child’s feelings about their preschool graduation.
 
@borisv A kid not seeing their mom at graduation would be worse. She can say good bye to the students the day before and let them all know it’s her last day and even email families if she really wants.
 
@borisv This is such a weird point of view. Teachers love their students but to expect them to put their students above their own children is very strange. Just another part of the unfair societal expectations that are causing teachers to rapidly leave the profession.
 
@katrina2017 I never said that’s what she should do, nor did I say either choice was worse/better than the other. I said it sucks either way. She’s stuck between a rock and a hard place and I feel bad for her.
 
@daffodilia My oldest is graduating from pre-k the same time as my high school students are graduating. I’m so sad - I love going to graduation, so many kids come back - but I will not miss my baby singing his graduation songs they’ve been practicing for months, or wearing that stupid cap.

It SUCKS that I am missing my graduation for my students though. I get where OP is coming from.
 
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