San Diego Unified parents struggle to find childcare during Thanksgiving week

Parents of students at San Diego Unified are struggling to find adequate childcare during Thanksgiving week, CBS8 reported. And elementary students in the district also had minimum days the week before Thanksgiving, adding to parents’ challenges.

“She has always had the entire week off, but when I was in school, we only had Thursday and Friday off,” Jennifer Sumber told CBS8.

“I’ve seen on Facebook, a lot of parents are stressing. What am I going to do about childcare?  What camp is open during the week?”

A district spokesperson told CBS8 that the changes to the academic year do not affect the number of instructional days.

Richard Beitey, a father of two and the president of The Whole Child Learning Company, which provides after care programs for students, said they are limited both by staffing and space.

“There might be 100 parents at a school that want a program that they can send their kids to on half days, but there might only be enough space for 10 or 20 students,” Beitey told CBS8.

The YMCA is also holding camps that week.

“When we see the schools are gonna be out for more than a few days, we open our doors and give parents that opportunity,” Gary Young with the YMCA, told CBS8.