At our local district, public PreK is only 2.5 hours, 5 days a week. Because we both WOH FT this won't work for us. So, we won't be enrolling DD1, which means another year of daycare costs. Bleh.
Does your local district offer a public PreK program? If so, will you be enrolling your LO?
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
Our three year old program is only 3 days a week for 2.5 hours. Our four year old program is 4 days a week for 2.5 hours. So... daycare it is until kindergarten!
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
3 hours per day for 5 days a week. But almost everything is a provider (home/private providers, centers, churches, and then obviously some elementary schools). So they will just stay at the daycare they are at, and the school lowers our rates (we pay for the other hours the state doesn't cover).
I dont understand states that "provide" PreK but dont offer ways for it to be full time. Often the low income kids that need the support the most are the ones that have working parents that can't get them there just 3 hours a day.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@oliviaoblivia: that is awesome. Basically a full school day.
@T.H.O.U.: haha LOL I wish NY state gave us a partial refund. 
Never mind low income. Any family that has both parents working full time, that's just not possible.
pomelo / 5298 posts
Our public program in our school district is not free - it's private pay and admission is application/lottery based. It is a full school day 8:00 - 3:00 and for another fee we can use the extended day/after school program from 3:00 - 6:00. In our district 80-100 kids get in.
pineapple / 12234 posts
Ours is the same...and it's more expensive than private 
They also don't have school when the rest of the school has half days (two random days per month). I don't know how working parents do it!
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@MamaG: wait. Your school district offers PreK but you have to pay for it?
pineapple / 12793 posts
@regberadaisy: it starts at four too which some aren't happy about but I think is great. We can pay for after care until six.
pomelo / 5298 posts
@regberadaisy: Yes. That's correct. There is a state mandated Pre-K as well that is available if you meet certain criteria, which we do not meet. That is free and it is half day (I believe about 3 hours/day).
grapefruit / 4278 posts
It's only 3 hours/4 days a week. But some of the public programs are taught at private daycare centers, including the one we send E to. He'll just move to a different room when it's time for preK and we end up getting a discount on our daycare since he's technically not there a full day.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@kiddosc: yeah, I know another district that does that. I don't think ours does.
coconut / 8472 posts
We have public preschool (3-5 year olds) from 9-12 and it's not free. I think it's $300/month.
grapefruit / 4278 posts
@regberadaisy: We already had to register him for next fall, we went on the first day to make sure we got into the program at our daycare. It's was definitely a contributing factor to choosing this daycare.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
There's no public pre-k in the town we are in. I think that you are lucky to even have a public option as the preschools in my area are absurdly $$$.
grapefruit / 4355 posts
We are a while from needing it, but it appears that Georgia has free pre-K programs for 4 year-olds that run 6.5 hours a day, 5 days a week. They are funded by the state lottery but they are on a first come, first serve basis so you are not guaranteed a spot.
You can also pay for extended care if you are a working parent and need a longer stretch of care before you can get off work.
cantaloupe / 6791 posts
I taught public pre-k and it was full-day (followed the same schedule as elementary schools, so mine was 8-2:30). In NC, it's free and for "at-risk" kids, though. The families had to either be low-income or ESL.
grapefruit / 4819 posts
Well, kids here start full time school at four, from 8:45-3:15, which I hate, so we won't be doing it. We are applying for a deferral for DD1 to start school at 5 instead.
Kids here get 15 hours a week of free preschool education from the term after they turn three, and then are entitled to free full time education from the September after they turn four. Way too early IMO. DD1 does two mornings a week now at 3.5 yrs old (6 hours a week) and will do four mornings a week (12 hours/week) all of next year.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@Ree723: it's only too long because you're a SAHM. 
It would be perfect if you WOH. But I hear you. My cousins PreK is full day and her kids have always been home with her. she didn't like it so they're homeschooling for the time being.
pomegranate / 3438 posts
I just looked up our public option and it is from 8:30-12:15 (or 1:15 depending on the school). I can't tell if they have an option for extended day care though. Right now we have our LO in a private daycare that offers preschool and junior kindergarten. I have until the end of the year to decide which one I will enroll him in.
grapefruit / 4819 posts
@regberadaisy: Lol, true! Although some days, the idea of sending them out all day sounds very, very appealing!!! 
pear / 1998 posts
It's half day - you can choose the AM or the PM option. Most daycares/preschools in the area provide transportation to/from. There is a $40 supplies fee for the entire school year.
watermelon / 14467 posts
It is tuition-based and in a lottery...just depends on how much space they have.
cantaloupe / 6206 posts
@regberadaisy: Ours is exactly the same. Even our K here is only 12-2:45pm!!!!! We don't get "full day" (8-3) public school until 1st grade. SUCKS.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@Ree723: I think it also totally depends on what they do during the time. My daughter is 4 and goes to preschool/daycare for 9+ hours per day and has since she was an infant. But there is only about 1-2 hours of actual lessons/instruction per day so I feel like its a good balance.
coconut / 8234 posts
@regberadaisy: We have universal pre-k both half and full day options. They are adding more half day slots because a lot of parents complained about their kids not being ready for a full day.
LO will hopefully go to her zone school for UPK, 5 days a week from 8:20 to 2:40. We will have to find afterschool programming for her.
grapefruit / 4819 posts
@T.H.O.U.: Oh I agree! I just don't like it here because they've essentially moved what would be the kindergarten curriculum down to four year olds. By the end of the Reception year (pre-K) of school, so just three weeks after my LO would turn five (school runs until mid-July here), she is expected to be reading fluently, writing simple sentences, and doing basic addition and subtraction with numbers 0-20. To me, that is asinine. All the research in the world shows that starting academic learning too young has absolutely no benefit and is in fact detrimental. The only learning kids should really be doing until the age of six is learning through play.
Argh, this is a topic I feel really strongly about, hence why I am fighting the system here tooth and nail! I'm fairly sure I am already known as the pain in the arse American amongst the local schools here...
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@Ree723: I dont think I agree with pushing down the K standards to 4 year olds, but I do think there is a place for a bit of learning by age 4 (although I agree play based learning is very important). Studies have shown that strong programs exposing kids to basic standards (shapes, colors, numbers, letters, letter sounds etc) set them up not only better for Kindergarten but also future success.
nectarine / 2085 posts
There's some sort of part-day preK available, but we skipped it.
@Ree723: Whoa, that's intense! Is homeschooling an option there? I feel like if they're actually getting all 4 year-olds to do that, there must be a lot of drill-and-kill going on, and that's not to anyone's benefit.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
Our city has very limited slots for 3 year old preK (most kids with IEPs or some particular special need) and still limited seats for 4 year old preK. The days are the standard day for the school they are in (so 8-2:30 or 9-3, or whatever, varies by the school). Seats are limited and it's a lottery.
For me (as a sahm) that would be too long of a day. It seems like day cares are set up more as some learning but also lots of free play and down time, which kids that little need. PreK seems more like a full day of academic learning. But I could be totally wrong about that, having never really researched either. LO will turn 3 this summer but I'm definitely not putting her in the lottery for the 3s program.
pomegranate / 3604 posts
@oliviaoblivia: it's only because daycare costs are absurd in Ontario. I'm not sure I agree with the approach
We have no preK. Kindergarten starts at 5.
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