Ratios, do they really matter?

Ratios? What exactly does that mean for a parent??

Child care centers often use the term "ratios" with parents, but do you really understand what that means... Many parents do not and that's fine, we are here to help. The dictionary defines ratios as:

 a ratio is a relationship between two numbers of the same kind

For us this is the number of children that are allowed to be with one teacher. This is a very important number to us because quality care begins with low ratios. What you must know about ratios:

• They vary from county to county and state to state. Sarasota County and Charlotte County maintain 2 different sets of teacher to child ratios. 
• Mixing age groups effects a classrooms ratios - For example a child who is under 2 years of age can only be mixed with older children if the ratio for children ages 1 - 2 years of age is maintained. 
• After a child's second birthday a classrooms ratio is established by the majority age of the children 
• Classrooms who do not meet the minimum ratio requirement at all times our out of licensing compliance

You might be asking yourself... What ratios do we maintain

That's an awesome question

We strive to maintain lower than recommended ratios in all classrooms

Age Group	Foundations Ratio	Sarasota County Ratio	Charlotte County Ratios
Infants	1:4	1:4	1:4
Toddlers	1:5	1:6	1:6
Two Year Olds	1:8	1:9	1:11
Three Year Olds	1:10	1:13	1:15
VPK	1:10	1:11	1:11
School Age Children	1:10	1:22	1:25

When you are seeking our your next child care center be sure to ask about the classroom ratios.