Last year we had to pay for LO's preschool, because she was only 3 years old. This year her preschool is free! I guess all 4 year olds can go free if they meet income requirements, which are obnoxiously high...so I think almost 100% of kids get to go for free, which is awesome!
Is your LO's preschool tuition based? Or do they offer free preschool programs in your area?
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Our state pays for half days for all 4 year olds. Basically all the centers/home care/etc anything licensed can offer it and get paid from the state. Then parents pay for the extra hours.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
I'm pretty sure my state/town does not have free preschool. She will be staying at her daycare center that will also act as her preschool till she goes to Kindergarten most likely.
pomegranate / 3973 posts
We have awhile before we have to think about it, but 4 year old preschool is free for half days, and 5- full days are about $150/month. Too bad DS will be almost 5 before he can go b/c of the cut-off date!
grapefruit / 4321 posts
Our county has free pre-k through the public school system, but the spots have to be applied for an are awarded based on the most high-need (aka low income) children. So we would never qualify for one of the spots, which is fine with us, we're just keeping our LO in Pre-K at the school she's attended since she was 4 months old and where our younger son attends as well.
grapefruit / 4988 posts
We send her to a private preschool, but the public school one here has a sliding tuition based on parental income, which can be combined with a variety of scholarships, subsidies, and vouchers for low-income families. We don't qualify for any of that though, so we would have had to pay full tuition. I don't know if anyone qualifies for totally free. Even the lowest possible income bracket tuition is close to 1k/month.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
The public schools have a limited number of spots available and to be honest, I never even thought about looking into how you get one because we loved the private preschool we sent our son to.
nectarine / 2878 posts
The public school in my town offers free half day pre-k. It doesn't work for our schedules though. 
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22276 posts
@catlady: oh wow...1k, that's low. I think the limit here is close to 80k, which like I said...for our area that's a lot. So most kids qualify.
grapefruit / 4321 posts
@Bao: I think @catlady: meant the tuition is $1k/month for even the lowest income bracket, not that the income level is $1k.
grapefruit / 4988 posts
@Bao: @Truth Bombs: Lol, yes, that's the tuition for the lowest income bracket, not the income. 
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22276 posts
@catlady: @Truth Bombs: oooh ok! I was thinking families making 1k a month or something. Got it now 
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
no, we have to pay -- there's no free preschool around here, though I think some schools have scholarships.
coconut / 8472 posts
No free preschool here. The public school system does offer a preschool/pre-k program, but it costs money and is only 1/2 days. Our half day kindergarten is free, but it's tough when you work, you have to still pay for "extended day" (afternoon) plus after school care.
pomelo / 5298 posts
The only free programs are Title 1 type programs which we don't qualify for. Our school district offers an amazing paid option which we did. It was similar in cost approximately as our daycare but I felt like it was the right thing for us. So while it wasn't a cost saver, it was a different opportunity that we deemed valuable.
pomelo / 5789 posts
The only public option is available if you qualify for free or reduced lunches - AKA make under $37K year for a household of 3. We make way more than that so not an option.
We pay $235/week for private preschool.
cantaloupe / 6869 posts
There are no free options where I am but the weekly tuition is really low if we can get LO into one of the local magnet schools.
watermelon / 14467 posts
Ours is free if you qualify on income. We make more than the set amount, so we would have to pay and it doesn't work with our schedules. So we will be keeping her at her current school, which is $184/week once she turns three.
pomelo / 5866 posts
I think they made it free for a few thousand applicants in rural areas. But you had to be on it because the window was very short and limited notification. We had free preschool due to my husband's work benefit.
pineapple / 12053 posts
there are free options for kids 3-5 if your family income is lower than $46K for a family of 4.
pomegranate / 3438 posts
The only free programs are for low-income families. We could have sent him to the public preschool near us but by the time we add in before and after care it would be just as expensive as the private one he is in now!
nectarine / 2028 posts
We'll have to pay until he goes to pre-k which is free through our state (California). But my nephew, who is starting a magnet preschool through Chicago Public schools, gets the whole day for free as a 3-year-old! We are so jealous of my bro and SIL that they don't have to pay anything (well, besides their taxes that fund programs like this, of course! ).@yellowbird: Did you end up moving to Chicago? I had no idea about the free options for preschool there until my nephew got into this program!
grapefruit / 4187 posts
There is no free pre k in my area. I am always so confused when people talk about pre-k because I wonder if the mean daycare? Since it's not free here it's also not required so a lot of kids are home until kindergarten.
persimmon / 1436 posts
I don't know if we have a free pre-K option for 4 year olds as we decided to keep ours in a nature-based private preschool. It's about $2,000 for the school year. They do have full and partial scholarships funded by our local giant company.
pomegranate / 3438 posts
@ChiCalGoBee: Interesting. I am in California too and have not been able to find any free pre-k programs in my area. They have subsidized programs, down to free for very low income families but that is it.
persimmon / 1322 posts
The only free preschool in our area is head start, which requires families to be at or below the poverty line. There also aren't really any public preschools. So pretty much the choices are head start--which we don't qualify for--and crazy expensive private preschool. I wish we had more options!
hostess / watermelon / 14932 posts
No free here
coconut / 8430 posts
I don't think we have free preschool in my city, though the city of Seattle has just started to offer free preschool for low income families.
pear / 1648 posts
DD is only turning 2 this month, but pre-K for 4-year-olds is free in Georgia. Our current (private) daycare has a Georgia Pre-K class and I believe she's guaranteed a spot.
grapefruit / 4584 posts
New York City offers full day (approx 9am-3pm) free "pre-k for all" (aka "universal pre-k") for four year olds in many public elementary schools, childcare centers, and a handful of privates schools. There's a matrix of rules that considers income/need, your location, where siblings attend school, where the child attended preschool the previous year, etc.
DD1 got lucky and got a coveted spot in a private program near us, so her school will be free this year. DD2 will attend a private, paid 2's & 3's program two half days per week at the same school DD1 attended last year. If we hadn't gotten a pre-k spot we were happy with, we would have paid for DD1 to attend as well. Their school chooses not to participate in city-funded UPK - I'd love to ask the director why. My guess is that the $$ they receive is too low, and they are filling the spots anyway (with students paying full tuition), so they don't bother. This year, many of kids who would have been in the pre-k class with DD1 are going to UPK programs...I wonder if that will leave gaps in the class and impact the school's participation in UPK in the future. I secretly hope YES!
GOLD / wonderful pea / 17697 posts
It's tuition based. I'm actually not sure if my county offers free preschool, but we wouldn't move him anyway. We love his preschool too much, and he's been there for a long time. I might look into something else for G, though.
honeydew / 7303 posts
@ChiCalGoBee: yes!!! I have researched thoroughly and never saw an option like this? Can you give me any more information? Is it income based?
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
No free preschool. They do have reduced tuition based on income but it's less than we make.
For three days, 2.5 hours a day, it's $176 month. Plus the bus fee.
The the public preschool through the school district.
grapefruit / 4085 posts
I know there's a Head Start program in our area since the volunteer org I'm in does a reading program with the kids. Other than that, it's all private preschools.
pineapple / 12793 posts
No free preschool but free full day junior kindergarten the year they turn four.
pomegranate / 3658 posts
My city offers free preschool for families making <300% of the federal poverty level, and sliding-scale subsidies for families that earn more than that (if you attend the program). But our DD is likely going to attend the preschool at her current daycare (or possibly a new one opening up based on the European model of all-day-outdoor play, but that's just something we're toying with - they also offer subsidies to low-income families on a scholarship type basis).
grapefruit / 4291 posts
We're in New Zealand and every child between the ages of three and five (inclusive) is entitled to twenty free hours of early childhood education per week. I pay about $165 per week to have both my small people in preschool / daycare for 25 hours per week.
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