Is that wonderful bundle of joy you have at home finally ready to leave the nest? I’m not talking about your 21 year old boomerang kid. It’s about your preschooler. And at 4 years old, if he or she is set to start school, get ready for a trip.
It’s one thing if you have a great supply of preschools or elementary schools around you, but if you live where I do, that isn’t the case. It’s a hot topic among parents in my neighborhood, where heated discussions in message boards erupt whenever school is discussed. It’s because there appears to be some sensitivities surrounding the private vs public school debate — and the bottom line is the question of quality.
In San Francisco, families are in waiting lists for a spot in a K-6 school. It doesn’t matter where you live, if you decide for your kids to go public, you are subjected to a school assignment lottery, which turns into a rather strange case of school system roulette. There could be a fantastic school by your doorstep, but the San Francisco public education system may, through this lottery, cause your kid to end up in a more questionable place quite farther from where you live. So it’s no surprise many families opt to go private, and when they do, they just found a fantastic new way to use up their retirements savings. If you’re one of those people, just put your 401K in an envelope and mail it to the headmaster down the street. Of course you can opt to apply for financial aid, or bet on the special talents and genius of your child to eke out a spot for himself in the roster. But that’s yet another lottery you will need to play.
So to all you soon-to-be parents out there in some booming metropolis, sign up your unborn child NOW for PRESCHOOL! For all new parents out there….good luck!
2004-2005 Tuition Rates for some Bay Area Private Schools
| Castilleja (Palo Alto) | $24,000 |
| Challenger (multiple locations) | $10,160 |
| Chinese American International School (San Francisco) |
$16,800 |
| Crystal Springs (Hillsborough) | $23,280 |
| Girls Middle School (Mtn View) | $16,500 |
| Harker (San Jose) | $21,000 |
| Hillbrook (Los Gatos) | $17,450 |
| Keys (Palo Alto) | $17,150 |
| Menlo (Atherton) | $24,800 |
| Nueva (Hillsborough) | $22,940 |
| Phillips Brooks (Menlo Park) | $18,900 |
| Pinewood (Los Altos) | $11,950 - 16,800 |
| St. Joseph (Atherton) | $21,870 |
| St. Nicholas (Los Altos) | $4,950 (in parish) $7,245 (out of parish) |
| Trinity (Menlo Park) | $16,740 |
| Woodside Priory (Portola Valley) | $23,830 |
Technorati Tags: preschool, public school system, public school, private school system, private school, education system, tuition, kindergarten
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Truly unbelievable. I can’t imagine a life where that’s the status quo.
Here via CoFL
Our school,
Costa Mesa Preschool in Southern California charges about $675 a month and offers a full phonics curriculum
We live in the East Bay and tuition isn’t much different here. It’s truly a money-grab. The first year of my child’s life, I might as well have sent him to Stanford!
Bill,
Didn’t know you were in the “neighborhood”! Are you all for a blogger pow-wow anytime? We have a few financial bloggers in the area…
I’m always excited to find out that a pf blogger is around…
This makes our tuition in southern california a lot easier to swallow.