"Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire" - W B Yeats

[anastasiav]

I'm starting to realize that I really, strongly (more strongly than I had realized) want E to go to a good pre-school starting in the Fall. Something with a Montessori or Waldorf theory behind it. Unfortunately, any such school in my area that offers such a program is also far out of our financial reach -- around $13K (including extended day fees, because we would need him to be there for an entire workday, not just the half-day formal preschool). And that's only for a school year ... we'd still need to find and pay for care for him in the summer. A couple of schools do offer financial assistance, but only once the child is school aged. No assistance is offered for pre-K.

So, yeah, another way I'm failing him, I guess.

Comments

[pale-chartreuse.livejournal.com]

If you are open to a non-branded school, I would suggest looking for a facility that is NAEYC accredited. It is a third party accrediting organization. My MIL, who was a nursery school director for 30 years, has done some work for them.

National Association for the Education of Young Children

http://www.naeyc.org/

[anastasiav.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've looked at the NAEYC approved preschools in Portland. Pretty much the same deal -- there are five or six approved schools, two of which are restricted to super-low income families, and the remainder of which are these $10 - $13K programs.

[pale-chartreuse.livejournal.com]

That is impressively pricey. You might have some luck with places that are trying to get accredited, but haven't finished the process yet (it can take up to two years). The website I linked to should have some of the guidelines of "What to look for in a good facility".

Good luck.

[a-c-fiorucci.livejournal.com]

That's about the going rate out here in the (far) NW suburbs of Boston, too.

[soteltie.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't hurt to ask the schools if they have any sliding fee/financial aid programs. I'm way out of touch with this scene, but way back when I taught at a nursery school it was common to have such programs. Usually the parents had to do some extra work for the school in exchange.

[soteltie.livejournal.com]

Some YMCAs also have very good childcare programs--have you checked in your area? The Y I go to has financial assistance. I don't think one has to meet a particular low-income dollar amount, just write why you need the assistance and what you want to use it for.