What are your actual staff-to-child ratios, and how do they compare to what's required?

Illustrative — not a real business

Our infant room runs at a ratio of one teacher for every four infants, our toddler room at one for every six, and our preschool classrooms at one for every ten — and we will tell you plainly that our state's minimum legal requirement is one for every four infants, one for every seven toddlers, and one for every twelve preschoolers, so we are staffing above the legal minimum in the toddler and preschool rooms, not simply meeting the floor. A lower ratio matters practically, not just as a compliance number, because it means more individual attention, faster response to a child's needs, and closer supervision during higher-risk moments like transitions between activities or outdoor play. We maintain these ratios throughout the day, including during naptime and outdoor time, not just during structured classroom activities, and staff breaks are covered by additional floating staff specifically so ratios are never temporarily dropped to cover a break. On a day when a regular teacher calls in sick, we use a trained floating substitute from our own staff pool rather than an unfamiliar outside hire, and if we cannot maintain proper ratio at all that day, we will tell affected families directly rather than quietly operate below the safe standard.