Switching preschools over money?

[Janeway]

When we first moved here, we put our oldest at a public school preschool and it was awful. The next year, we tried a church preschool. It was still better, but not that great. It was ok. Now the older kids home school. I sent my next two children to a pricier private preschool that came highly recommended. To be honest, love this preschool! It has been great. But, the rates next year are higher. My younger one is in the preK year and they cut out the 2 half day a week program so it is more expensive. I mentioned to the neighbor how much I am paying. She told me she loved her grandchildren's preschool and she did not think it cost this much. It is a church preschool. I checked out the rates and it is half the price. I brought it up to my husband. He reminded me how it was difficult to find a good preschool and we might switch and find it is awful. He says it is my choice, but not sure if it is worth the risk of switching. I am supposed to tour on Monday.

 

Would you just stick it out one last year at the higher priced preschool? Or, if you like it, would you take chances and switch in this last year?

 

I do not want to home school her yet because there is a huge age difference between her and my older children. The older children take up a ton of my time and she gets ignored a lot when I am with them. She loves going to preschool. 

[maize]

Take the tour and see what you think. It may be that this new preschool is a lovely place, or it may be that it is clearly only half as good as the other.

[rdj2027]

If it is only one more year I would probably pay the higher costs.  I like consistency and if my child loved going there I would not change it for one year (and in fact did not when in that position).  However, I would still take the tour.

[Jackie]

I would stick with the current preschool. The only reason I see for preschool to exist is social time, and I assume your child has friends at the current school.

[Rachel]

Is part of the reason the old school is now so much more costly because your child will now be there more hours each week?

 

Things I would consider:

Is the higher priced preschool a financial burden? Would going to the less expensive school allow you to do some things you currently are not able to do? Is the new school closer so you have less commute time?

[almondbutterandjelly]

You might ask if you can still do two days for a prorated price.  Sometimes private schools are amenable to these kinds of arrangements.

 

For instance, my dd attended a latchkey program that was intended for public school kids 5 days a week after school.  I just wanted to take my homeschooled dd for 3 days a week for social reasons.  I was able to do that, and they prorated my payment.  

[OneStepAtATime]

If they already have friends and are comfortable at the current school and you can afford it and it is only one more year I would stick it out. It is a know quantity and you all are very happy with it.

[Suzanne115]

If I could afford it, I would stick with her current preschool.  We moved so my daughter had to switch preschools.  She did fine, but we could tell she really missed her old preschool.

 

 

Suzanne

[Chris in VA]

I wouldn't assume you are going to have the same quality of experience this next year at the current preschool. So much is teacher-dependent.

So, take the tour of the new place, and look HARD at what is happening in the class your child would be in. For example--Read the newsletter she puts out (she should be putting one out either monthly or weekly). Look at the walls--all crafts? Process art? How are the children represented in the room? Look at the children--engaged deeply? Look at the schedule--large block of time for intentionally planned play? Look at the materials--I'm biased, but I like to see more than just plastic, and I want well-equipped centers that have writing opportunities (clip boards, pads of paper, something) and even books (cookbooks in the kitchen area, or science books in the science area, etc.). Look at the way the group gathers and how transitions are managed, and how the teacher talks to the children.

 

Then do the same with the current school--take a tour of the new class your child will be in. You know the policies of the school, but make sure you understand how this next level of the school operates. I can say I've worked in several schools where the 3s program was AWESOME but the 4s were sitting for half an hour doing worksheets, did all crafts and no creative art, had too much time in circle, and were given "play time" in centers that never changed or got deeper, and where the "play time" was considered a break and not an important part of the actual curriculum.

 

So look with at the current school just as if you were seeing it for the first time. You need to compare apples with apples.

 

 

 

 

 

[...................]

I have found that unfortunately unbeknownst to me, my children suffered a little from the instability of taking them in and out of certain classes or programs.  For some programs or classes, they hated it and couldn't have cared less.  For others, it would have been better to accept the inconvenience or cost, to keep them with their friends and loved ones until they grew out of it.  

 

If you cannot afford it, you can't afford it and that is life.  But if it's a matter of 100.00 per month that just means you eat out less or something, I think as much stability as you can give kids, is important.

 

Another lesson I have learned, FWIW and you probably already know this, is to observe VERY carefully without your student, on more than one occasion, before committing to a program in the first place.  (Another lesson I have learned is that if something is super expensive, to avoid it in the first place also, because when times are tight it really hurts the kids to take them out of or away from things they really loved.)  (that's advice for going forward) 

[lmrich]

I would keep her where she is, if you can afford it.