Whew, preschool! The years are creeping up on me. B will turn 4 soon and technically I guess she could have started preschool last year, but she has been at a great in-home sitter for the last 2 1/2 years and I wasn't in a hurry to change that. Her sitter is my best friend's mom and has been caring for kids for years, B's best friends also go there, she deals with my flexible/changing schedule with no complaints, and B is well-loved and cared for.
However, my smarty-pants girl has been needing a challenge and I decided it was time to get serious about finding a preschool option for her since she won't be starting kindergarten for another year and a half. Below I listed the places I looked into, and some of the information I gathered about each place (tuition is a big one- don't hide your prices, be transparent!)
Ideally, I was looking for-
- Full day (what is with preschools and their 2 1/2 hour programs?? Who does that work well for!)
- Affordable (this is obviously different for every person- for me I was looking for less than $150 a week)
- Diverse (I would love diversity in all areas, ability/race/culture/religion/age, but the primary thing I was seeking was other children of color)
- Logical location (not too far away from home or my office, for whenever I go back to working from there)
- COVID precautions (I was afraid of sending her into a huge classroom with tons of new peers and how it would be handled, but also dreaded her having to wear a mask allll day long at 4 years old)
Toledo Christian School is a Christian program located in Toledo off the Anthony Wayne Trail. Their rate for Monday-Friday full-day, 8AM-3PM preschool is $6,800 for the school year. They now have a $500 scholarship available, but it is offered to current students before newly enrolling students and no other financial assistance is available. After hours care is available for $4 per hour.
Maumee Valley Country Day School is a private preschool-12th grade campus in Toledo off Reynolds Rd. Their cost for full-day, 8AM-3PM preschool is $17,500 for the school year. I chose to look into MVCDS because their website states "We are proud that our students come from many different communities, different types of families, and a wide range of economic backgrounds, comprising a student body that represents the rich diversity of our region". This was encouraging to me! The diversity of their student body was great to see during the tour, and the children spend most of their time outside even in the winter, which I loved. After my tour there, I was told financial assistance is only available up to 50% off tuition at this level- so, more than $8,750 for the school year. After care is available for $7 per hour.
Trinity Lutheran is a Christian program on Heatherdowns in Toledo. The cost for half-day, Monday-Friday preschool is $2,600 for the school year- if you pay in full for the year you can receive a 3% discount. There are also additional registration/milk fees. Their sessions are 8:15-11:15 or 12:15-3:15. They do combined age classrooms in the preschool. I asked about the diversity of the student body and was told "we have a diverse student population, one child is even Indonesian with the most beautiful hair". Maybe don't equate race with beauty! I do know several people who are happy there, so hopefully it was just an off-hand remark that will be learned from. After care is available for $4.50 per hour.
Maumee Public School is our local public school system. The cost of their half-day, Monday-Friday program is $230 a month. They offer financial assistance through the Early Childhood Education grant for 4 year-olds- an idea of the income requirements to qualify for that can be found here (we do not qualify). Their hours are 8:30-11:15 or 12:30-3:15. I know Maumee as a whole has a low population of non-white students, but I do not have statistics on this. This was our second best option, as it would get B into the local school district experience, it's very close to us, and she has been asking to go there forever. I would have to use my lunch break everyday to pick her up, take her to the sitter's, and go back to work. Not ideal.
YMCA Childcare has several sites around the Toledo area. I was looking into this option right before the pandemic started, since they had a site in an elementary school close to my work. They also offer scholarships to people who have been denied Job & Family Services assistance (us)- however, when I called to ask about this they informed me that since their enrollment is down due to COVID-19, they are not offering financial assistance at this time and it would be a case-by-case basis in the future. Their rate for full-time care is $180/week for members and $200/week nonmembers. I forgot to ask about their curriculum/diversity (although the latter likely relies on which site you choose).
Carnation ELC was recommended to me by a few people- it's a newer childcare site on Reynolds Rd. in Toledo. They're open year-round, and the cost for full-time care is $167/week (this could change). The staff follows strict COVID-19 protocols, and the children are able to pursue interest-based learning.
Toledo Day Nursery is a year-round program located in downtown Toledo on Jefferson Ave. They use a sliding scale fee, based on JFS guidelines, and charge you based on your income. For us, the weekly cost for full-time, full-day preschool would likely be $130. They are a small site with one classroom and low ratios due to COVID-19. They use Creative Curriculum (what I used to teach when I taught preschool years ago). Their current student enrollment is majority Black, although their staff is all white.
What I found through this search was-
- Preschool programs tend to be aimed at families where a family member stays at home and is easily able to drop off/pick up for half day schedules
- Costs tended to trend around $6,500-$10,000 for a SCHOOL year's worth of preschool- now add in the cost of a summer program also 😳
- Diversity is reliant on the area the program is located in- which I guess isn't a surprise, but was definitely a priority for me to seek out racial mirrors for B
- Costs and financial assistance are kept under wraps in many cases. This was the main reason I decided to blog about this, both to capture the research I did in case it helps someone else but also to actually list out the fees. I continue to wish finances were openly discussed and not some "taboo" topic and I will keep dropping the number bombs until this happens!
- ONE program out of all the ones I contacted actually said "we base our fee on YOUR income". This is what I was really looking for- I don't even want to under-value the worth of early childhood educators, but I cannot rationalize going into debt for tuition that I simply cannot afford.
