J.G.
Do you have any friends with kids the same age or slightly older? Neighbors, people at church, coworkers, etc? You can ask them what they know or did.
Some preschools are very academic. Some are more play based. Some are all day. Some are just 2 1/2 hous. The number of days each week varies. Many churches have preschools. Sometimes the school districts have PreK, but the type of funding they receive dictakes the criteria for attending.
My son goes to a preschool at the Park Districk (so the cost is about the same as many churches in town). We love it! It is play based, and the teachers are great. One thing I did not consider at the time was that the kids that go to this school will be going to different grade schools. Has I chosen one of the churches in our community, he would be going to Kindergarten with his preschool classmates. Still, he loves his teachers and his friends.