Question about cost

[tracymom1]

I have been looking into Montessori education for our DS. There are several Montessori schools in our area and so far we have visited 2 of them and fell in love! My question is this - are they all so expensive? For 3 half-days a week it is close to $9,000!!! We would not qualify for financial assistance though we are not able to afford such a price tag, either. The cost goes up exponentially for each year, topping out around $16,000.

We are thinking of moving next year and wondering if most markets around the country are charging this much as well. I am also considering home schooling but taking my time to research everything available before making any decisions. TIA!

[b_light]

The one we are looking into is about half that, but we live in an area with a very low cost of living.

[SomedayMom]

Around here it depends on the school. The one we are in has similar costs to what you describe. The others I looked at were less than that. Ours is a toddler-grade 6 school. The least expensive was an infant-K school. There is also a public Montessori school but it is nowhere near us (45min-1 hour away)

[Drummer's Wife]

We have some that are more than that per year, and others that are a bit cheaper. But, I'd say that is average for private schools.

My kids are in a Montessori program within the public school system so it's free.

[mattemma04]

The one we use is close to 5k for full time.It will probably go up again.It does each year.Then there is the charge for supplies,gym,field trips,and if they say you still owe your volunteer time then you can end up paying another
800.Still lower that yours,but we struggle to keep up with the rising costs each year.

[lach]

Ours is $11,000 a year for 5 days, which is more expensive than the other local Montessori school, which is $9,000 for 5 days. They're slightly different philosophically, and ours is attached to a private k-8 school, while the other one is just ages 3-6. Both pale in comparison to the other private school preschool in town, which is $17,000 a year. For a three year old! Yikes.

We do also live in a high COL area. All these schools, I think, charge as much as the market can bear.

[Koloe]

Last year I paid $2295 for 5 days a week, 2.5 hours a day. This year 4K program is free thanks to the Public School Pre-K program. And then there is a PreK-8th grade Public Charter School which my DD is currently attending. There are 2 other Public Charter Schools within 1/2 hour of my home, but they are both in a different state. Though one does take out of state tuition.

[kittykat2481]

My son's school is toddler - kindy, and we pay $730 a month for 5 full days. Don't remember what that comes out to off the top of my head for a 10 month calendar year.

ETA: That is less expensive than others in this area, but we make up for it for providing a lot of time and donating supplies, etc. The other school closest to us was (I believe) about $950 a month.

[zinemama]

We paid $240/month for four half days.

[ADirrim]

I am not sure about your situation, but you might consider applying for a scholarship through the Open Montessori Initiative (they seek to provide financial support to families seeking a Montessori education):
http://www.montessori-omi.org/7.html

[MattBronsil]

Originally Posted by kittykat2481

My son's school is toddler - kindy, and we pay $730 a month for 5 full days. Don't remember what that comes out to off the top of my head for a 10 month calendar year.

If you multiply by 10, you can just add a 0. ;-)

[kittykat2481]

Originally Posted by MattBronsil

If you multiply by 10, you can just add a 0. ;-)

Wow. I'm laughing so hard at myself right now. In my defense, I had an almost two year old demanding my attention at the time, and i'm beyond tired.

Still...

[eepster]

It can vary a lot. There are a few schools around here in that range, but we found a really nice on for DS that was only $4,000 for 3 half days a week. This year it's $5,500 for 5 half days. Of course next year it'll be more when he goes full time.

[MattBronsil]

Originally Posted by kittykat2481

Wow. I'm laughing so hard at myself right now. In my defense, I had an almost two year old demanding my attention at the time, and i'm beyond tired.

Still...

TRUST me. I've done dumber things before and I don't have that excuse.

[jnh896]

Where in Chicago are you? (suburb or city?) That's higher than the market rate in the North Atlanta suburbs for primary classes and elementary classes, but it might be more on par for intown schools. (I am speaking of private...I don't know anything about public montessori school programs.) Certainly for traditional private high schools, the range in Atlanta can be $15,000-18,000.

Have you done a search on Montessori schools in other cities you are considering? I found that most private schools post their tuition up front on the website. We have compared Atlanta and Dallas, TX because that is where my DH's family is. This is our first year, but my experience so far is that you can add another $1,000 to the tuition tab for supply fees, registration fees, fundraisers, book fairs, or extracurricular options, etc.

I am generalizing, but the market rate in North Atlanta suburbs seems to be $9,000-$10,000 for full days and $5,000-$7,000 for half days. (primary) Some schools do extended days (past lunch) and some don't for the 3 and 4 year olds. (you get into daycare licensing issues with naps, etc.)

I do work outside the home and did need full day coverage. We are calcuating that the cost should work out to be about the same than the traditional daycares (the ones at the top of the market) in our area. So, we're commmitted to a $10,000 budget item and Montessori is a much better ROI for those dollars. We figure we will spend the $$$ now, get a solid foundation, and then figure out the elementary years down the road when we get there.

Good luck!

[tracymom1]

This is the link to the price list -
http://www.brickton.org/programs/default.aspx#Schedule
I really cannot believe the cost. I am still experiencing sticker shock! We are in the city but near the suburbs. I have looked at several other Montessori schools in the area and this does seem to be the norm. I also looked into the Jewish day school we would consider and it is even more expensive.

There is a Montessori near Madison, WI that is much less expensive and that is one of our possible destinations. I have a feeling I am going to end up homeschooling because I am not sending my LO to a Chicago public school!

[noobmom]

We live in the South (i.e. low cost of living). 5 half-days is about $3500 for us. I think it's a steal. The other nearby school is almost twice that...a little over $6000. One difference is that the other school has all beautiful, matching, purchased materials. In our school a lot more of the materials are made by the teachers. Things are bought piecemeal, so it's not like all the furniture matches, etc. But really, I think they do just as good, if not better, a job of educating my son, so I'm happy.

[bobandjess99]

We live about 2.5 hours east of you, and it's about 1/3 that cost here. $7K for the school we were considering 1st on our list...about the same for the other one, and FREE for the one we were at, since it's part of the public school system! That's for full days, grades 1-8, and maybe a tad less for the 3-6 room.

[khaoskat]

I think our full day 5 days a week tuition is around $5,500 and that is 18m-8th grade.

Our school also accepts State Educational Choice Vouchers.

[askew]

We pay $640 a month for 4 full days. That is September-May. June, July and August are per week with not the full staff, and several weeks closed. We are in Northern CA/ Bay Area. For me, it was WAY less then childcare.