CLEVELAND, Ohio – When my babies were in child care, kindergarten felt like the holy grail.

Rather than a manic morning drop-off, packing bags and buckling car seats, dropping off and heaving around that carrier in the crook of my arm before heading off to my office, I would watch my kids board the school bus with ease! They’d be independent enough to get their own snacks! I wouldn’t have to pay more than my mortgage every month for care!

With kindergarten, though, came kid extracurriculars: weeknight soccer practices, Saturday morning games, art classes. They had school volunteer opportunities, for Scholastic book fairs or holiday parties or bread making. They had crazy hair days and concerts at 11 a.m.

Working with kids in school was somehow more challenging than working with kids in

See Full Page