Pre-K Registration "terms"

[SoMDGirl42]

"A child must be four years old on or before September 1, 2015, and come from a family with an economically disadvantaged background."

What constitutes as "economically disadvantaged?"

I just want my son to get a good start at education.

When I tried to register my youngest, even as a single mom because I had a job, we were "not economically disadvantaged". She was put on a wait list. . After filling out the required forms where you have to list your income, a couple came in after me. They were arguing with the person because they both owned their own company and had "expenses like payroll" and didn't think they had to report all of their earnings from their companies. The person told them to write in zero for their income. BTW, they had twins. Guess who's kids got in while mine was on a wait list????? I was pissed. They obviously made significant amount of income more than I did and my kid required speech therapy. We found out 1 week prior to school that she had been accepted only because she required speech therapy for the first few years of school because of frequent ear infections and having a hard time hearing. Afterward I asked the person about the income guidelines and why they were allowed to write zero even with owning two companies. She said they can not verify income.

 

[MarieB]

We were concerned about speech too, and I'm thankful that mine got in because they have been working on that. He was really ready for a school like setting.

 

[sockgirl77]

my son goes to one of these and it's not that expensive, granted your son is potty trained, it's less than $200 per week !!!

Sorry, but that's a lot of money to a lot of people. Infant care is $225-250 per week.

 

[KDENISE977]

Sorry, but that's a lot of money to a lot of people. Infant care is $225-250 per week.

I guess I'm just used to it because I've been paying it for 4 years now,...and yes, infant care is worse... ours was OVER $250 per week.

 

[libertytyranny]

There are some daycare centers that combine daycare and preschool classes. They aren't cheap, but maybe whey wouldn't be more than you are paying right now?

my son goes to one of these and it's not that expensive, granted your son is potty trained, it's less than $200 per week !!!

Prek is less than three hours a day. Working parents still need to cover the rest of the day with daycare. Then you have your kid spending most of their day shuffled around on buses. Not worth it if you work, IMO. I much prefer my daughter in the prek/daycare combo she is in. Makes more sense for working parents. Its a bit more than just the half day daycare I guess, but its worth it to me.

 

[Erick76]

Thanks for sharing information regarding pre-k registration terms. My son is 4 years old so now I would like to enroll him to the best Phoenix pre-k. I have made a list of a few local preschools and will select one after visiting all of them.

 

[Roman]

Prek is less than three hours a day. Working parents still need to cover the rest of the day with daycare. Then you have your kid spending most of their day shuffled around on buses. Not worth it if you work, IMO. I much prefer my daughter in the prek/daycare combo she is in. Makes more sense for working parents. Its a bit more than just the half day daycare I guess, but its worth it to me.

I know this is an old thread but I thought Pre-K was an all day program. In Calvert County it is, and I think some of the schools have before, and after care.

 

[libertytyranny]

I know this is an old thread but I thought Pre-K was an all day program. In Calvert County it is, and I think some of the schools have before, and after care.

From the website:
**IMPORTANT NOTE: The CCPS Pre-Kindergarten program for four-year old students operates in half-day (AM/PM) sessions. Some candidates who are eligible for participation in pre-kindergarten may also be eligible for participation in the CCPS Head Start program which also runs in half-day sessions. Concurrent enrollment in both programs will provide students with a full day of educational services. If interested, you must also complete and submit the Head Start application. For more information regarding the Head Start program, contact (410) 535-1013.



Full day is for certain high risk students in nearly all of the local counties. Most only qualify for half day. Which amounts to very little actual instruction and a whole lot of snack, line-up and bus time.

 

[Roman]

Thanks.

From the website:
**IMPORTANT NOTE: The CCPS Pre-Kindergarten program for four-year old students operates in half-day (AM/PM) sessions. Some candidates who are eligible for participation in pre-kindergarten may also be eligible for participation in the CCPS Head Start program which also runs in half-day sessions. Concurrent enrollment in both programs will provide students with a full day of educational services. If interested, you must also complete and submit the Head Start application. For more information regarding the Head Start program, contact (410) 535-1013.



Full day is for certain high risk students in nearly all of the local counties. Most only qualify for half day. Which amounts to very little actual instruction and a whole lot of snack, line-up and bus time.

 

[KDENISE977]

I opted not to have my son in Pre-K at Charles county schools, his school/early learning/daycare WHATEVER has a pre-k program and from what I'm told the whole going for half a day and worrying about the busses etc... I opted out. My son knows his alphabet, his address, can write and spell his name etc. I've spoken to his current director and they say the kids getting off the pre-k buss often come to them and are like "Ms. Sherry, we just did this in school"... so :shrug:

 

[Agee]

Excuse my ignorance, but isn't a child not required to attend school until the first grade?

I feel for parents whose children are just entering the "school years" (pre-K, K) and the decisions involved... Myself and siblings started our school journey in the first grade...

 

[getbent]

Excuse my ignorance, but isn't a child not required to attend school until the first grade?

I feel for parents whose children are just entering the "school years" (pre-K, K) and the decisions involved... Myself and siblings started our school journey in the first grade...

Not sure. I always thought it was Kindergarten.

 

[getbent]

Excuse my ignorance, but isn't a child not required to attend school until the first grade?

I feel for parents whose children are just entering the "school years" (pre-K, K) and the decisions involved... Myself and siblings started our school journey in the first grade...

According to this website (FAQ's-Kindergarten) it says it is mandatory to attend.

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/msde/divisions/child_care/early_learning/PreK-K.htm

 

[Agee]

According to this website (FAQ's-Kindergarten) it says it is mandatory to attend.

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/msde/divisions/child_care/early_learning/PreK-K.htm

Thanks!

It's bound to make a difference starting school earlier and with the struggles associated with a two-income family ease day care burdens?

 

[withrespect]

We decided not to put Bubba in pre-k. With the divorce and all the changes going on, I didn't think it was best. Now I am rethinking it because this morning at daycare, he was the only one not going to school. I feel horrible and was crying because I felt like I made the wrong decision. My heart is still broken. I might try to do a late registration... I am definitely getting him a backpack because all the other kids had theirs. If he doesn't get in, we will just continue to do worksheets and everything but I am so sad.

 

[Roman]

I'll never forget my son's first day of kindergarten. I was so sad seeing his little legs straddling those huge bus steps. Once on the bus, all I could see was his platinum blonde head walking to his seat. It seemed after kindergarten, my kid's childhood flew right on by. Now they're adults and getting gray hair!! I'm not getting old, they are!

 

[KDENISE977]

We decided not to put Bubba in pre-k. With the divorce and all the changes going on, I didn't think it was best. Now I am rethinking it because this morning at daycare, he was the only one not going to school. I feel horrible and was crying because I felt like I made the wrong decision. My heart is still broken. I might try to do a late registration... I am definitely getting him a backpack because all the other kids had theirs. If he doesn't get in, we will just continue to do worksheets and everything but I am so sad.

Don't feel bad, your son will be fine. I felt bad too at first, but after seeing how small those kids were getting on that bus... and the things the teachers were telling me about the little ones being bullied on the bus. I'm glad he's got another year.

 

[Hannibal]

In Charles, at least in public schools, you are put on a waiting list to get into Pre-K. So when this became known with my oldest (son), we enrolled him at a private school which added another monthly expense to juggle. The "trick" of the system is that children are accepted on a "needs" base. Don't quote me on the specifics but it's something like children with learning needs get a level of priority as do children in low-income households. So, the public school more or less tries to fill the slots using these candidates and that at a certain point (usually a week or two prior to actual start), they will notify you if your child has been accepted. Since we wanted to ensure our son was in a program, we opted to pay for private school. The private school has caught on so they now charge you something like $100-$150 registration fee (non-refundable) because people were enrolling in their school only to pull their child out if/when accepted into the public school program.

With our 2nd (daughter) - we simply went for broke. We signed her up for public pre-K (at the school her brother attends) and decided if she didn't get in - she'd stay home (mom is a stay at home). Thankfully, she got accepted and is extremly excited about starting school. She's already called the grandmas and picked out her bookbag.

 

[KDENISE977]

In Charles, at least in public schools, you are put on a waiting list to get into Pre-K. So when this became known with my oldest (son), we enrolled him at a private school which added another monthly expense to juggle. The "trick" of the system is that children are accepted on a "needs" base. Don't quote me on the specifics but it's something like children with learning needs get a level of priority as do children in low-income households. So, the public school more or less tries to fill the slots using these candidates and that at a certain point (usually a week or two prior to actual start), they will notify you if your child has been accepted. Since we wanted to ensure our son was in a program, we opted to pay for private school. The private school has caught on so they now charge you something like $100-$150 registration fee (non-refundable) because people were enrolling in their school only to pull their child out if/when accepted into the public school program.

With our 2nd (daughter) - we simply went for broke. We signed her up for public pre-K (at the school her brother attends) and decided if she didn't get in - she'd stay home (mom is a stay at home). Thankfully, she got accepted and is extremly excited about starting school. She's already called the grandmas and picked out her bookbag.

this was my understanding too...which is why we opted out, but the director at my son's school/ELC stated this year changed everything because the state rec'd more funding so every kid except 2 got into public Pre-K in Charles and St. Mary's :shrug: I didn't know, but it wouldn't have changed my mind, he's in an Early Learning Center anyway :shrug:

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Kind of amazing that kids learn to read so early now, when I started school you learned your alphabet in kindergarten and learned to read in 1st grade. Only had one classmate that could read in kindergarten.