Have any of you navigated the wild, wild world of preschools in intown Atlanta? Wow. I've done two tours and I'm scheduled for two more. Most people start their children in preschool at the age of one in order to guarantee them a spot when they get older. I've found two with openings, but one of them wants $600 up front to enroll Frankie, along with tuition. Oh, and it's a co-op, so it requires parent work days. Um, I get paid to do that now. I'm not against parental involvement in the schools, but for that price, you can hire a classroom assistant and I can go work at home on my other job. (Plus I only want him in school three half-days a week, so it's not like I won't be spending time with him anymore.) But if I don't enroll him now, I run the risk of not getting him in anywhere for the fall. One other preschool (with no openings right now, but probably about five new spaces in the fall for the three-year-old class) usually has a long line on registration morning and is first-come, first served. I only know people that have been wait listed there, but most of them also get their kids into the school after waiting awhile. Oh, and you register in January - nine months in advance. Does anyone else think all of this is a bit crazy? Has anyone else successfully registered their kid in an affordable, in-town preschool that isn't five days a week and pretentious as hell? And been happy with the result?
8 comments:
Wow. Where do you live? NYC? That sounds a little crazy to me. When we first enrolled Nick (a long time ago!)he did get put on a wait list, but got into the school we wanted by the end of the summer.In the mean time I registered him somewhere else, just in case. How much is it per month? Just curious. Good luck.
I'm with Becky! Are these pre-schools thru churches? Every one our kids have gone to are thru a church. Luke goes now, and we had to pay $25 to register, and the price/month is totally reasonable. There is one school in town where you might get put on a wait list, but it is too hoytee-toytee.
Most of them lease space at churches, but that's the extent of the religious affiliation. The preschool I work at is at least $3000 a year, (I do the drop-in side, which is more like a Mother's Morning Out) so we're not going to enroll Frankie there, as if we could even get him in. I still can't believe the co-ops cost SO much and are so exclusive! I think that the preschool situation gets better when you get to the suburbs, but intown, it's ridiculous. Is it worth driving 30+ minutes to save some $$? Still debating. I'm going to try for the one I want, which is the one with the line on registration day (Juston wants me to get up really early, like 5 AM) and if I can't get him in there, I've got a backup. At a minimum, we're going to pay $250-$300 a month; that's just the way it is. Luckily, with Frankie in school, I'll have more time to work, so I can take on another class to cover this preschool tuition. That is, unless we have baby #2 (no it's not an announcement - no bun in the oven), then we'll see what happens.
I should say, I think I've got a backup, if things go according to plan. If not, well, it's only preschool, right?
It's more expensive, but I'd say go for a school that's close. Right now, Andrew's preschool is 9-12, if it was further away, I'd have almost very little time before I have to turn around and go back. 3 hours sounds like a lot, until you park, walk the slow poke in, put their stuff away... especially if you're hauling another one in the carseat. :)
yeah, there really are not very good intown options that aren't $$. Good luck getting in. Hopefully you won't have to wait in a line at 5am in the freezing cold.
We love K's school, but the 5 day a week thing is not negotiable in MIA accredited schools so if that is not workable, it's not workable. I think the fees next year are $6800- that's for approx. 180 3.5 hour days. Hourly (about $10-11)I think Montessori is a better deal than most ATL preschools because of the amazing quality of the materials and instruction. But I'm very attached to the Montessori method :-)
Yeah, I'm looking for a play-based method rather than Montessori. I ultimately think that, along with fewer days a week, will be the best fit for Frankie.
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