One of my most shocking parenting moments came when I first started looking into preschools. First, I was shocked by how EXPENSIVE they were. I mean at age two, we’re talking about crayon drawings and learning circles from squares, right? The average Miami preschool tuition from the ones on this list is $11,000/ year! To put it in perspective, college tuition for FIU is $18K. Second, I was SHOCKED at the whole wait-list thing. I had (mistakenly) thought that wait lists for preschools was so ridiculous, something that you would only see on tv, like in an episode of The Real Housewives of New York City or something like that, not in real life. Wait list? For preschool?? Really? Yes. Really. And not just a list with a couple kids waiting to get in before your kid, some schools have wait lists up to two years long! Whatttt??
After the initial shock wore off, I started searching. The spreadsheet below is a collection of information that I gathered in my search. I personally visited every school on this list with the exception of Cushman and Coconut Grove Montessori. The tuition rates are from 2011, so prices have gone up obviously since then. Also note that tuition rates are only part of the price structure. Most of the schools have fee on top of fee that they require in addition to tuition, so scroll all the way down the chart to see the total tuition cost including fees. Please use this comparison chart as a tool in your search, but also remember that other factors will influence your preschool choice, including distance from your home, the school’s education philosophy, the availability of after-school care, etc. Make it a priority to schedule a visit to potential schools. Try to convince your husband or partner to attend visits with you. Good luck!
The schools included are: St.Patrick’s, KLA Brickell & Coral Gables, Casa Dei Bambini, Le Petit Papillon, Coconut Grove Montessori, L’Atelier and Alexander Montessori. (The chart is scrollable left-right & up-down) UPDATE: I’ve just learned that the chart is not showing up in Chrome. I don’t know why. I’m trying to figure out the glitch. It seems to be fine in Safari, Firefox and Windows.