Is there a fee for preschool in your area?

[mo2]

I mean public school preschool. I was shocked to find out what it would cost to send my kids to preschool here.

[Karen in CO]

My district has a couple of preschools, including IB early years programs. They all charge a fee.

[AmyinMD]

It's free here for both regular pre-k and special ed pre-k. I shudder to find out what my ds's pre-k would cost if we had to pay. He has his own aide.

 

For regular pre-k there is a lottery because they don't have enough spots. Free/reduced lunch kids get priority and there are other things that can help get your child in. My 4 yo was born 11 weeks premature and could probably get in based on that but she isn't delayed. I was considering sending her because ds already goes but decided to homeschool her next year.

[Chris in VA]

I'm not sure. But if I had the choice, I'd never never never never choose public preschool around here. Ymmv where you are.

 

Here, it's dumbed down K, and very inappropriate developmentally. It draws those in the pop who are economically disadvantaged and poorly educated themselves, and has the added burden of dealing with a higher pop of non-English speaking kids. It's not that I wouldn't want my kid in with "those" kids--we've been on the poorer end ourselves, that's not it--it's that there's so little parent involvement and way too many kids per class, and it's all about getting ready for K by doing K already, instead of honoring the stage they are in.

 

My little rant.

Edited April 27, 2011 by Chris in VA

[blakereese]

Yep. Ours is $429 every 9 weeks. $1716 for the year. This is for the 4yo class that meets 4 days a week for 2.5 hours.

 

I guess it sounds like a lot of money when I type it out like that. But that is CHEAP around here. Most of the other preschools in my area are around $3k a year. (and that is just a regular ole preschool, it's MUCH more for the Montessori, Waldorf, etc preschools)

 

I live in an expensive part of the country, though.

[newhsmom]

The only way you can qualify for free public preschool where I live is to be economically disadvantaged or bilingual. To my knowledge, there is not another option for public preschool. All of my friends have sent their kids to some type of church or private preschool before they started Kinder in public school.

[dirty ethel rackham]

We don't have public preschool here except for Early Intervention kids. I have no idea if there is a fee for that, but it serves a tiny segment of the PK population. The cheapest option here is through the park district at $900 per year. Private preschools (schools only, not daycares) are around $1800/yr for 2 half days/week to $4000/yr for 5 half days/wk.

[MrsBasil]

As far as I know, there's a fee unless the child qualifies for Head Start or is categorized as high risk in some way(english language learner, high poverty, special needs etc).

[*********]

As far as I know, there's a fee unless the child qualifies for Head Start or is categorized as high risk in some way(english language learner, high poverty, special needs etc).

 

 

Same here.

[m0mmaBuck]

We don't have public preschool here except for Early Intervention kids. I have no idea if there is a fee for that, but it serves a tiny segment of the PK population. .

 

That's us too. The last time I checked around, the price for a half-day program was $1200+/yr for 2 days, $1500+ for 3 days, and $2600 for 5 days.

Preschool (2-day)$1,215.00K-8th Grade$5,050.00Preschool (3-day)$1,530.00 Preschool (5-day)$2,655.00

 

 

Preschool (2-day)$1,215.00K-8th Grade$5,050.00Preschool (3-day)$1,530.00 Preschool (5-day)$2,655.00

[mom2scouts]

Public school preschool is only free for kids who need Early Intervention or those who qualify for free lunch.

[ChristusG]

VPK (voluntary pre kindergarten) is free here.

[Ellie]

Since preschool is not mandatory (praise God), I would expect to have to pay for it, whether it was at a public school or not.

[Murmer]

Ours is free but over 1/2 the slots are for special needs children, including my daughter, the other 1/2 is by lottery.

[kokotg]

Georgia has univeral free pre-K, but my understanding is that that's pretty unusual.

[Crimson Wife]

There are free preschools at the schools in the district that are in "Program Improvement" status under NCLB (e.g. the worst performing schools). There is also a special ed preschool.

 

A few of the other schools host co-op preschools, but those aren't officially part of the district. They are simply renting some empty classrooms. I think they run around $150 per month for 2 mornings per week. That's cheap by area standards but parents are required to work 3 times per month.

[sewingmama]

Public Pre-K is pretty cheap here in Australia. 5 days a week/3 hrs a day is $60 a term or $240 a year - I thought that was a lot till I see what you guys pay EEEK.

 

We don't have lotteries or anything - because it's a State school if you live in the zoned area they HAVE to take you - I've never seen an overcrowded class because of it - my DD's pre-k class has about 25 kids with 4-5 teachers. My DD only goes 3 days a week though - I think 5 days is excessive for a 4yo.

Edited April 28, 2011 by sewingmama

[kokotg]

....and the day after I post, there's an article in the local paper about cuts to our pre-K program. Turns out there's a waiting list that 8-10,000 kids are on, and they're increasing the class size from 20 to 22 for next year, along with cutting the calendar from 180 to 160 days. It's funded with lottery money, along with the college scholarship program whose future I'm much more invested in than pre-K, on a personal level.

[SweetMissMagnolia]

no-not sure if they ask for supplies or $ to cover supplies because we didn't go that route---now the private ones have fees..........

[weddell]

Yep. Ours is $429 every 9 weeks. $1716 for the year. This is for the 4yo class that meets 4 days a week for 2.5 hours.

 

I guess it sounds like a lot of money when I type it out like that. But that is CHEAP around here. Most of the other preschools in my area are around $3k a year. (and that is just a regular ole preschool, it's MUCH more for the Montessori, Waldorf, etc preschools)

 

I live in an expensive part of the country, though.

 

That's almost exactly what we were paying and it was quite cheap compared to the other preschools in our area as well.

[2_girls_mommy]

Ours are free through the public schools. We opted out of course as homeschoolers. People thought we were nuts back then, as since it is free and part of P.S. here, everyone goes, and seems to think it is required.

[Virg]

I have on idea about my new state but in OR there was no public PK except Head Start, in which you had to be below the poverty line or bilingual, or Early Intervention. Both are free and Early Intervention is free no matter how much you make. My children went to Early Intervention because of severe speech issues, you would also qualify for other developmental delays, handicaps, autism, etc.

 

PKs are pretty expensive unless you participate in one that is a co-op

[Mom22ns]

Pre-school here comes in three varieties.

 

Special Ed preschool: This is free for the special ed kids and the reverse mainstream kids that are included as role models.

 

Title I preschool: This is free and is used for students who are "at risk". They may be economically disadvantaged or test low in an area without qualifying for special ed.

 

Mainstream preschool: This is about $100/week. It is 5 half days/week and uses 2 certified teachers and about 18 kids per class.

 

We have used all three. Ds did Special Ed preschool one year and Title I preschool the next. Dd was a reverse mainstream for Special Ed preschool for a year (a wonderful experience) then did the mainstream preschool which she loved.

[Twilight Woods]

public preschool is not free here. Through our school district the amount varies-depending on the number of days your child attends. When my older DD went I paid $220 a month.

 

This last year I chose to go through the park district for 2nd DD. I paid $800 for a 3 day/3hr program.

[Pretty in Pink]

Yes, there is a fee here unless your child meets special needs criteria. I actually have a girlfriend who was pushing last year to have her 3yo diagnosed ADHD so that he would qualify for free preschool.

[journeytolily]

Preschool is free here for 4K. The 3k programs are for Head Start and special needs, and of course are free. My little one is starting SN preschool in Sept, due to speech delays. There will be a bus that will pick her up and bring her home, also free. I'll be going to school with her for that first week!

[Daisy]

No free preschool here unless you qualify for Head Start.

 

Actually there is no public preschool here except for Head Start.

[OH_Homeschooler]

Yes! Before I got into homeschooling and worked, I looked into our local public preschool. I can't remember the rates but they were more than the typical daycare rate for a week, and it was only half a day so even if I could afford it, it was not feasible as I needed full-time care.

[katilac]

Public school pre-school is only for high-risk kids in my area (delayed, economically disadvantaged, etc). There is no "pay" choice via the public schools for other kids. If they plan on going to private school, then they often go to that school's preschool (generally, all day, 5 days per week). There are also plenty of private options that are pre-school only; these are usually half-day, 3 days for 3 yr olds, 5 days for 4 yr olds. If you work, and your kids will be in public school, they usually just stay in daycare until kinder.