I just looked into a private pre-school through our church, and was a little surprised that it's going to cost almost $3000 for the two semesters for two mornings a week. Can anyone tell me if that is normal? What do you pay? My son will be three at the end of August.
*addendum: We live in a Chicago suburb, if that makes a difference
Just to add what others have said- it can vary wildly. My son will be going to park district program for less than $700 per year but they can range into the thousands (even in the same town). I have a friend who will be sending their child to the British school in Chicago for $20,000! Yes, for preschool!
T.,
The cost of preschools do vary widely. My 3 year-old son will be starting preschool this fall (2 days/week from 12:30-3) and our tuition comes to around $1,400. Granted, he will be attending a cooperative preschool which means that parents help out in the classroom once every 6 weeks or so and help out in other ways (fundraising, maintenance, etc.). Other schools may cost more or less depending on the type of program and location you're looking for.
I did a lot of research because I was looking for a school that emphasized learning through play as opposed to a more academic style. One resource that might really help you get an idea of what's out there is a preschool guide from PACES that lists several preschools in different areas. The guide can give you information regarding teacher/student ratios, class schedules and tuition costs based on age group, teaching philosophies, description of the faciities, special features or programs they have to offer, etc. The link to their website with information on the preschool guides is:
http://www.pacesmoms.com/special_events.html
Hope this helps...
We send our son to a private preschool 2 days/week for 2.5 hours/day. It costs us approx $1800/year. Next year he will go 3 days/week for 2.5 hours and will cost approx $2400/year. The costs can vary quite a bit between private and park district but it can be hard to get into park district programs since space is so limited.
Good luck in your search and definitely get a PACES book to research the schools. It was a great help to us when looking.
We currently pay $240/month for 4 days/3 hours. Our montessori was something like $7000/year for 5 half days or almost $12,000/year for full days. (9 month year). I think those might be the two extremes of pricing in our town. Both are very well-regarded.
Hi T.!
I guess it just depends upon where you look. I've seen some that cost as much as $200 per week, and some as low as $200 per month. But even being private, I haven't run across any as much as $3,000 (for two mornings per week). We entered into a lottery for a private pre-school through a local church, and were lucky enough to get a spot. For children 3 to 5 it's $225 per month, and it's half day (Monday thru Friday). The school year is a total of 9 months. So we would end up paying $2,025.
Good luck!
Lynn
My son goes to a park district preschool. For the 3 year old class its 2 days a week and every other Friday for 2 hours. It costs me around 500 for the school year. Next year he will go 4 days a week for 2.5 hours and it will be around 700 for the school year
sounds pretty reasonable to me. but from my standpoint, we are in chicago, applied to a couple private preschools and are expecting to spend about 10K a year for parttime half days. but tuition varies all over teh place. you'll have to spend some time researching all the options.
Our park district, which is in the burbs, charges around $80/month for the 3 year old program which is two days a week for 2 1/2 hours
I was just looking on line at some local Catholic schools and they were less than that. You might look around.. Good luck
Well, "normal" is relative to where you live. We have many fantastic preschools that cost about $1,800 for the school year (3 days per week). My friend, who lives in the city, pays $6,000 for the same amount of time.
It sort of sucks. I'd research as many options as you can.
3 days a week, 2.5 hours a day = $110 per month for 9 months(but the cost is offset a little by parent involvement via volunteering in the classroom, cleaning the classrooms 1 time per year, being on a committee, etc.)
My son just turned 4 and started full day preschool at St. Turibius School (near Midway airport) in August. He goes 5 full days and it costs us $3250 for the school year. Much less than the amount I was paying at a daycare center. If anybody is looking for a school in that area, we love it. My daughter has been going there for 3 years. Small school, great teachers and a family community.
we go to trinity lutheran 2 mornings a week for 136 a month
she goes to kindercare on fridays while i work and that costs me 68 for one day
J.
