Pre-school Tuition

I think we pay $115/month for 2.5 hrs for 2x a week. When she goes 3x a week for 2.5 hrs it'll be $145/month.

We paid $40/day for childcare from 8 am - 6:30, including preschool in Allison Park. Feel free to PM if you would like more info.

I think the first thing to do is take the money out of the equation and focus on what each school has to offer vs what you are looking for and if you feel your child is ready for 2 days or 3 days.

Gather all the information and base your decision on what they provide and what your needs are at this time. THEN, look at the money perspective and go with the best you can afford.

It does depend a lot on what you are searching for and what type of school you are preparing your child for.

Good luck.

16 years ago I paid $1200 for the year for my child to be in pre-school for 3 hours a day for 5 days. This was at the public high school and they used high school students as classroom aides. Each classroom had 15 students - some were sped students. There was also Master's degree teacher as well as an adult aide in each classroom.
I would have paid whatever they asked as the program was terrific. There was a morning session and an afternoon session. The kids switched sessions half way through the year - just like the kindergarten sessions. They were then used to the change by the time they got there. My kids absolutely loved their pre-school.
Honestly, whatever they charge - pay it.
LBC

Ours is $193 per week for 2 days, $280 for 3 days and $405 for 5 days, similar hours.

It will vary by area, and by type of preschool. I'm sure you saw this also with daycares. We went with this one because the prices were comparable to some of the other schools I was looking at, but without the co-op component. I simply can't afford the regular time in the class. I work PT. We also liked their philosophies toward education and discipline and play. for us, religion was a bonus but not required, and her preschool is in a church.

We really liked the 4 yr old teacher - she reminds me of some of the favorite teachers I had when I was a kid. I also liked the low turnover and that they have continuing education requirements. See the school in session. The kids' behavior will give you a good clue about how well run it is and if it suits you.

You should also decide if the type of class is what you are looking for. We are not doing "pre-K" (and what that means varies by the school). We are doing play based preschool. DD knows quite a bit already and will be prepared for our county's Kindergarten by the time she moves on.

On the flip side, if you also have childcare, what does that mean to you for transportation? My friend's son is in all-day preschool/daycare because they wanted him to be in 1 place all day and they both work.

I'm not sure where your schools are, since we're in the metro area of Pittsburgh too. I don't know anyone who's paying over $2K unless they're also paying for after school or extended hours.

Friends of ours pay anywhere from $855 - $1500/school year for 2days/week. We pay $180/school year (yes, one hundred eighty dollars) for 3days/week.

Its all on preference. One couple hated paying the $1500/year, but their daughter loooooved the school and the teacher, so they paid.

Our program is part of the high school, where its run by a child developmentalist, and each child is assigned a high school student intern, who wants to be a child developmentalist. The school's costs are minimal (crafts/snacks), so the parents' costs are minimal. The time frame is not the best, but we love the program and our son loves the classes.

If this program wasn't in our area, we would have some very tough decisions and probably go with the preschool at our church, which is $675/school year.

Good luck!

This depends on the age of your child-- price for 2 year olds will be much higher than a 4 year old. It also depends on the place. We have been through preschool at several different places. At the chain schools, like Goddard, they are almost twice as much as the local church schools. Look into what they do with the kids, and if you need all the bells and whistles.

Our pre-school is very cute, we LOVE it and we pay:

2 days/wk 9a-11:30am $115/month
3 days/wk 9a-11:30am $125/month

So that is $1150 and/or $1250 a year!

My 1st child I sent to a daycare/pre-school for 2, 1/2 days (4hrs day) and it was $130/mth. My 2nd child I sent to a church pre-school for 3 days a wk and it was $93 mth. I have found that the church pre-schools are much less.
They love pre-school! I cried the first time I sent mine ( letting go is so hard! lol) but I needed the break with the 2nd one. lol

I paid $12 per day for 3 hours.. So about $900 a year.. however there were 30 kids int he class.. it was the cheapest place around. and it really was a good program.

3 days/week around $1000/month

our dd is in pre school 3x/week 8am-11am at $95 per month and she will be in it all year long.

We pay 150 for 3 days for almost 3 hours. I think the 2 day 3 hr one is 80 at that school. Last year we paid 180 (ish?) for 3 days but it was a 4 hour program - so nice. The 2 day at the other school was 140 I believe.

ETA: Those are monthly costs. We live in SW Ohio.

this is going to really vary widely, per geographical location. we pay $145 per week for full time daycare and preschool 9-12 every day.

Wow. My son goes twice a week for 2 1/2 hrs and I pay $100 a month!

We live in a nice part of Vegas and pay $195 for the week. This school prepped our daughter for private school and I feel they did a good job. Two of the four who applied to the private school made it in. There is another preschool school in the area that a lot of the children came from. I don't remember their tuition, but it was higher. So with that said, I take it the other school did a little more with their education.

Are you looking to get your child into a private school? If so, talk to the private school and see if they will share with you what some of the better preschool are. They may not want to give preference, but maybe they will drop a hint.

Otherwise, ask them what curriculum they are using and look it up. At the same time, realize that even though we pay a tuition for kindergarten, there is a lot of homework to be done. So you will need to work with your child at home as well as send them to preschool, especially since you don't plan on a full time schedule.

Mine is $1600 for two days (school calendar).

For my daughter's preschool, the 3 year olds did 2 days a week and it was $900 for the school year.

For 4 year olds, there was either 3 days a week or 4 days a week. The 3 days a week was $1200 for the school year, and for 4 days a week, it was $1500.

In all instances, the hours were the same - 3 hours per day.

We paid 90 for 2 whole days... 8:30-2:30
It's a private, christian school... Once they go into kindergarten, the tuition is 8k for the year..

My son goes to school Mon-Thurs from 8am-12noon and I pay $200/month. It is an awesome preschool!

We will be paying 120/wk for 2 days 9:30-12:30. If you're also paying childcare, I'd just find something that has a preschool format for the whole day.