Reply to Single dad with 4 year old: Stay at SAECC or switch to DCPS?

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[quote=Anonymous]Hi please help me decide whether to stay in subsidized private preschool at SAECC or make the move to DCPS likely Eaton for preK4.

I'm a single dad with an irregular doctor schedule (think Wednesday to Tuesday every other week, with a mix of 8 days off in a row here and there, 30% nights, and a string of 3-5 days in a row when not doing the Wednesday to Tuesday thing) and I have an almost four year old girl who's currently in preK3 at SAECC and thriving. On weekdays I drop her off in the morning or have a babysitter do the drop off, and in the evening I pick her up from work. On nights I get a night nanny, have a couple regulars, who also help when I'm working weekends.

With the lottery now open I need to decide whether to keep her at SAECC where we're in the PKEEP program so I'm paying $12.5k for the year, or switch to DCPS (our in-boundary school is Eaton which has before and aftercare which I'll definitely need). Scheduling will be the main issue - I can plan in advance as I'll know my schedule in advance. I understand DCPS has several days off each month as well as spring, summer, and winter breaks so financially it costs about the same as keeping her at SAECC, though I haven't strictly done the math. I know some schools like Murch I believe have mini camps for the random days off each month, but I don't think Eaton (which is a few minutes walk from home) does which is unfortunate and I'm not sure if it's worth trying to get her into Murch when Eaton is around the corner. I can't do an au pair because I'm not a citizen which is a requirement for hiring an au pair. I'd have to rely on day camps like Silver Star where she already does gymnastics (thinking I could have one of the babysitters do drop off). I could also request days off in advance or switch shifts with colleagues to get days off though that's not a guarantee.

My other concerns are what if I enroll her in DCPS and can't get her into their before and aftercare programs because they fill up quick? It's also a reason I'm thinking of getting her into Eaton, so that if she ends up on the waitlist she hopefully gets in by kindergarten. I've heard being in-boundary for preK4 doesn't guarantee you a spot - not sure if with Eaton it's easier to get in or what. Other thought is that she's gonna end up doing kindergarten here so might as well put her in preK4 at a DCPS school where she can get to know her friends and start creating her community earlier? Though probably not as big a deal to be introduced in kindergarten vs a year earlier.

Thanks in advance for reading through this and offering input and insight![/quote]

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