The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, November 7, 1994               TAG: 9411030019
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A06  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   33 lines

CHECK OUT TURNOVER AT DAY-CARE CENTER

As a 20-year employee of one of Portsmouth's oldest day-care centers, I take exception to some of columnist Marc Tibbs' comments (Oct. 20) concerning day-care centers.

Granted, he was speaking of the center to which he takes his daughter, but some of his remarks were entirely too general.

It seems to me that Mr. Tibbs was not very thorough when choosing a center for his child. One of the first questions every parent should ask when considering a center is about turnover of personnel. If the turnover rate is high, run - do not walk - to the nearest exit. A high turnover rate indicates unhappy employees, and unhappy employees do not make good day-care workers.

As for the unexplained injury to Mr. Tibbs' daughter: All state-licensed centers are required to document every injury, explain the treatment given and notify the parents.

Perhaps Mr. Tibbs should talk to us at Peter Rabbit School. Collectively, our staff of 10 employees has more than 100 years of experience and continuous employment at the same center.

Speaks well for us, doesn't it?

PEGGY L. McKAY

Portsmouth, Oct. 27, 1994 by CNB