summer language program

[MadiMamacita]

How much would you pay for an immersion type language program during the summer?
It is M-Th from 9-12 and meets at a public park. The instructors are native speakers or fully bilingual, 1:10 ratio.
This is for kids 1-3rd grade.

[ollyoxenfree]

Hmm. May I ask for a few more details?

How many weeks?

Are there school supplies involved - text books, workbooks, handouts like crosswords, word puzzles, etc.? and if so, who pays for them - you or they are included in the tuition cost?

Are they supplying snacks and drinks?

Do they pay a fee for use of the park space?

What happens in inclement weather - are they paying rent for indoor space?

I would expect to pay about $200 per week for a half-day program, possibly less if there are no facility/park use fees involved, possibly more if there are other costs that I haven't considered.

[MadiMamacita]

Oops! Sorry! I knew I was missing some details!

There will be handouts, but no books- all included in the tuition. There is a small list of supplies that is to be provided by the each student- scissors, crayons, pencils, a glue stick and a notebook.

There will be a snack provided.

There are two sessions- 4 weeks each

There is no park use fee, and there is a covered shelter in the park in case of rain.

[velochic]

What is the goal of the program and how does the language relate to your everyday life?

I ask because my dd (8) is in her 5th year at a private language-immersion school (one-way, meaning all instruction is in the target language), we are bilingual at home, and my undergrad degree is in linguistics. My response depends on what you want to get out the program.

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by MadiMamacita

Oops! Sorry! I knew I was missing some details!

There will be handouts, but no books- all included in the tuition. There is a small list of supplies that is to be provided by the each student- scissors, crayons, pencils, a glue stick and a notebook.

There will be a snack provided.

There are two sessions- 4 weeks each

There is no park use fee, and there is a covered shelter in the park in case of rain.

Okay - so the major cost is labour - paying faculty. There are no fixed costs for facility fees, utilities (electricity, water etc.), and fairly low materials cost (a few handouts and I imagine some toys and games, perhaps musical instruments etc.). The only other outlay would seem to be administrative - registration of students, organization of faculty etc.

I would probably revise my first estimate of $200 per week downward quite a bit, but it depends a little on the qualifications of the faculty. My estimate was based on daycare/private school fees and the specialized service of language classes.

From my understanding of the program, facilities and services, I'd estimate $300 total for the summer would be a reasonable tuition.

For 32 classes (two 4 day/4 week sessions), that's about $10 per class. If there are 10 students per instructor, that's $100 per day or $400 per week. Allowing for materials, snack and admin. fees, that's still a fair salary, considering it's half-days.

If it's a high quality program or there is a huge demand, then I'm sure some people will pay quite a bit more than that, though!

ETA: I didn't factor in advertising costs. I'm sure there are other expenses that I'm forgetting.