sensitive question-how much do you pay for tuition?

[jevm]

Our school recently had a tuition hike and is now over 11,000 a year for full time. My mil has always been generous enough to pay the tuition. She always said that she wanted to do this for her grandchildren. BUT...Now that we know what she has in savings and coming in I've gotta say we're very uncomfortable letting her do this. I've been doing the math and providing this for 2 more children after dd is done in kindergarten this year will obliterate her savings.

So I guess I'm wondering if this tuition is as high as I feel it is or if it's a comparable amount for a good montessori school. And I'm also wondering how to tell her how we feel.

[BCFD]

I don't mind sharing our tuition. We are in Northern California and my oldest goes 5 half days/week from 9-12 and we pay $7380/year. If she were to go full time (more than 4 hours, but up to 9) it would be $9000/year. They also offer before and after care and that is $520/month (expensive, but the child would be taking a spot otherwise meant for a full time student).

My middle child will be going 3 half days/week and her tuition will be $3840. We were actually going to be sending her to another school for $3840 and the director of our current school said she would match the price of this new school for us! Other wise it would have cost us $5436 for 3 half days/week.

Our school is not AMS or AMI affiliated, but the teachers are AMS trained and the director does have some sort of AMS member status (?) and is a member of the INC (International Montessori Council).

$11,000 doesn't seem too out of line for an AMI or AMS school.

[frostysarah]

Ours is about $5000 for the year, plus about $500 in various fees. This is for 3 and 4 year olds, 8:30-12, 5 days per week. Kindergarten is more, as they stay until 3. Then elementary is even more, maybe around $8000 for 8:30 - 3? I don't have the schedules, as we're not returning, or I would look it up for you. It's an AMS school in a small Maine town.

[zicki]

We're in Canada, so it's probably not relevant to you, but our DD2's preschool/kindy for 3-5 year olds for 2.5 hours per day, 5 days per week, is $310 per month x 10 months = $3100 per year.

Our DD1 is in public elementary Montessori, so we don't pay anything for that.

Cheers!
Nicki

[AndrewsMother]

I am a prospective parent at a school where the primary tuition is $13,560 for a full day and $10,800 for a half day.

[spedteacher30]

We got a scholarship of $3000 for the year, bringing our cost to about $8500 for full time (8:00-5:30). This summer the camp was $200 a week for full time.

So, $11000 or so for the school year here.

We are hoping to transition to public school for first grade in a few years...

[bluebunny]

Tuition is $6000 per year for a Primary age child (3-6) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

[mamalemon]

We live outside of Sacramento, CA and pay $5090 for 5 1/2 days (from 9-1). We get a discount for paying for the full year, otherwise it is $550/month.

It is a lot of money and it freaks me out sometimes, but I love this school and it is really worth it.

[lactivist]

We live in Oregon and we just got our bill for this coming year and it is $4600 paid in full or 4900 in installments. He will be doing full days until 3pm, 5 days a week.

Wendi

[sunanthem]

Our school is montessori w/ other influences and for full days, 9 to 3 it is $4500, but it is also a new school, so this being its first year, its much less expensive then other private schools in the area.

[Koloe]

My DD is enrolled in a program that is $255 a month for 5 days a week, 2.5 hrs a day September - May. It's for children 2.5 yo to 5 yo.

[Lingmom]

Our primary class is somewhere around $9000 and elementary around $10,000. For reference, parochial schools are $3-4k, private schools are around $20k/yr.

[tatermom]

Our preschool is just under 6000/yr for half days, 8000/yr for full days. One of the other schools nearby is 9500 for full days. I think elementary is closer to 10K.

[NoraC]

We are looking into a few schools (in Canada) and the ones we researched ranged (for full day elementary) from about $9500 to $17500 with half day age 3 - 6 ranging from about $6000 to $9000. Some had additional costs for field trips and hot lunch...some included lunch.

[Mum2JocelynAngus]

Our preschool is $2500/year for halfdays.

[Wabi Sabi]

Originally Posted by Mum2JocelynAngus

Our preschool is $2500/year for halfdays.

Same here for 1/2 days in an AMS school. It's actually on the more expensive end of the scale for preschools in this area, but we're obviously in a fairly low cost of living area.

[eepster]

I've been looking at a few different schools.

• The one I most wanted to send DS to (we applied for a scholarship, but didn't get it) is around $8,000 for halfday preK and $11,000 for fullday kindergarten. It is perfect and full AMS.
• Another one that we may send DS to is is only $5,500 for the halfday preK (I forget what it is for K.) It is very nice, but not quite as purely Montessori, though it is full AMS. My main concerns with it aren't the little ways that it diverges from M, but that DS has to be PLed to go, they only do mornings, snacks are whatever parents bring (as vegetarians this bugs me,) and it's a farther drive.
• There is a semi-public M preschool offered by our cities recreation Dept. it's only $4,300 for fullday. It only runs 2 years and DS wouldn't be able to start this year. It isn't AMS or AMI, and it seems set up for kids who are used to being in daycare since they have a drop your LO off with us and leave philosophy (one can also pay extra for after care or to drop LO off early.)
• Another that we didn't really consider was around $7,000 for the halfday.

[joanq]

We just signed up for a bilingual Montessori school and the tuition is $4100 for the school year 4 half days. We live in a spendy area and I actually thought this was relatively inexpensive compared to daycares and such in the area. Age is 3-6 for this school.

[Montessori Mama]

I am a paying parent of two children at a montessori school, a teacher at the same school, and I sit on the board of directors for this school. We recently had to raise tuition as well. This is due to the high cost of the montessori materials, the rising cost of utility bills, and the fact that teacher's salaries are raised to keep up with the rising cost of living. Also, many students have left the school because of their parent's financial situations and so the tuition hike was necessary. The school barely keeps afloat as it is. It sounds to me like the tuition you are paying is very comperable to what we pay here in Greensboro. My mother also helps us out with tuition! Talk to her about your concerns, but appreciate the wonderful education she is giving to her grandchildren. You are a very lucky lady. Does the school have a financial aid program?

[Rose-Roget]

We have a very good rate for quality education, I think. It'll be $400/month for 3 full days, including before/after care. Many of the other schools in the area are about double this. This one is small, is in the directress's home, and has been around for the past 25 years, so there's lower overhead. The quality of education and care, not the cost, was the final factor in our determination of schools, but it certainly didn't hurt anything that it is so affordable!