UPES & Pre-K

[Anonymous]

My family is going to relocate to the DC area temporarily, and we have a lead on a house near University Park Elementary School. My husband is not psyched about living near UMD because he spent many years there in grad school... but it's what we can afford with 2 kids.

Anyway I'm seeing good feedback on UPES on this website, so I don't really need to ask about that. It seems comparable to where my daughter just finished kindergarten (on the west coast), at least as far as the demographics and test scores go. But if you want to give me feedback, please do .

I'm curious about the Pre-K at UPES- is that only for low income or special ed? Is there any public pre-K for the general population in PG County? Any chance of getting my younger daughter in halfway through the year?

Failing that, I'm interested in private, part-time pre-K programs... do such things exist near UPES? I'm thinking 4 days per week, maybe 4 hours per day. What's the going rate for this kind of preschool for a 5 year old? Are they usually hard to get into, with waitlists?

[Anonymous]

You pay for preschool in MD unless you qualify for headstart. My kids attended Greenbelt Nursery School, which has full and half day options, as well as 3 or 4 day weeks and I think the prices are posted. We loved it. It's a coop, so you either have to volunteer 2x a week or pay extra (I think $40?) if you can't volunteer your time.

[Anonymous]

There are a couple of part time preschools in the area. College Park Nursery (301-864-5355) school has openings for next year. I think tuition is around $250 a month for the part time program.

Other than the public Montessori (lottery based and difficult to get into after age 3), prek is only for low income, special education, or ESOL. There are a few elementary schools that take kids that are not low income, but those are in areas that are very underenrolled (Baden is one). I suspect you'd probably be happier with the part time cooperative programs anyway rather than the public preschool options.

[Anonymous]

CYC has half-day and full-day options for families. The wait list is long, but a lot of times openings come up in the summer/fall because people have already made their decisions.

[Anonymous]

Paint branch Montessori school has a part time program. My daughter currently attends this school.