Montessori Questions... (I LOVE this school!!)

[twinsmom]

I have a few questions for those of you who have gone the montessori route...

How did you swing it financially? I just went on an official tour today, and completely FELL IN LOVE with everything about it. The kids were with me and they ATE IT UP. They felt so at home there, and got right into the activities.

I was so ready to sign on the dotted line, until I remembered on TINY detail... we are still POOR!! It's hard for me to swallow paying more for tuition than I paid for a whole semester of Collage... for my THREE year olds . That coupled by the fact that we have TWO three year olds to enter makes it even more of challenge. I am at a loss of what to do.

They said they do have some cases of getting a 'scholarship' through an outside organization that is linked to the school, but I don't exactly know how that works... I'll have to look into it tomorrow.

In the end, has it been worth it for those of you who have done it? I would absolutely love to get our kids in there (if by some miracle we can figure out how to swing it).

Thanks,

Jen B.

There was no way we could swing it during training. We just signed up - but I'm even postponing his start until Sept. so we can have 2 paychecks under our belt before we dish out the $$. And this is only for 2 days / week!

Good luck w/the funding!

[houseelf]

Yes, I would have to say that the tuition is the greatest drawback. How do we do it? Hmmm...in no particular order:

DH saved up tuition for three years out of his moonlighting money. We have scrapped all other unnecessary expenses. Our kids our 4.5 years apart so hopefully we will be able to tweak out private school tuition for one until DH becomes an attending. I work outside the home and I will go back to work full time this winter. Finally, we have determined that we will take out a loan if necessary to help us during his fellowship if we can't fund it another way.

It is a sacrifice, but we are very happy with DS's education. I wish you the best luck.

Also, in an unrelated area--the term "montessori" is not trademarked so be careful as anyone can (and does) advertise as such. Check out accreditation and references. Observe the classroom setting.

Kelly

[fluffhead]

Ours is half day, and new, so it doesn't cost as many arms and legs as some. I also use the "dependent care" account at the hospital, and we put away the maximum, pretax. This way it gets taken out of the paycheck, I find a way to pay the tuition and then we get a big fat check when we get reimbursed from the benefits company, which always seems like a bonus, even though the money was ours to begin with.

Some preschools have reduced rates depending on financial need -- it might be worth asking about.
Good luck! Sounds like a great place.

Jen,
Did you get the twins in??? What's the word?

[twinsmom]

After sitting down to pound out our budget, the money that we thought we would have each month is NO WHERE to be found!! I checked into the financial aid and the most you can get is a 20% discount - which is great... except when that still makes the final price beyond anything we could even dream about right now.

On a happy note, I did find out that Rochester uses a "choice" system for elementary schools and if you don't want to go to the school that you are zoned for, you can sign up for other alternatives. From Kindergarten on, Montessori is one of those choices (there are two Montessories in the area, one private, and one in the public choice program)!! So if I can find something that won't break the bank for the next two years, I will actually have a shot at the montessori dream after all.

Oh, the joys of living in poverty... .

Jen B.

That's great about the school choice. I hope that you find a way to make it work. Just another thought for you -- could you do some work for the school part-time to apply to tuition? I know that not every place does that, but I have heard of some arrangements like that. Good luck!