Reply to Relocating to DMV from Chicago, Desperately Looking for a Full-Time Daycare/Preschool

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Reply to "Relocating to DMV from Chicago, Desperately Looking for a Full-Time Daycare/Preschool"

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[quote=donewithchicago]Hello everyone,

This is my first time posting in this forum but I'm sure it won't be my last. My husband and I are relocating to the DC area from Chicago and our main concern is finding a preschool/daycare for our children.

Our 3 and a half year old son is currently at a full-time, play-based preschool with an engaging curriculum (lots of art and STEM) and a record of prepping its students for top elementary schools, both public and private. The student/teacher ratio for his classroom is between 1:6 and 1:7. We are paying about $1,760 a month for 5 days a week.

Our daughter is at the same school full time, but in their toddler/daycare program. She is 15 months old. The ratio in her classroom is 1:4 and we are paying about $2,100 for 5 days a week.

Basically I am looking for something comparable. We are non-religious, but will tolerate a religious school if the belief system is way in the background and not incorporated into the curriculum. We have no clue what neighborhood we'll end up in, so it doesn't matter where the school is located. We are self-employed and work from home, so commute isn't as big a concern.

I know the DMV area is more expensive than Chicago, and we can expand our education budget by up to 50% if necessary.

Can you please point me in a good direction here. I've been doing searches on my own and I'm thoroughly overwhelmed. It seems the DC area has way more preschools per square mile than Chicago (I don't know this for sure but it certainly seems that way.) Additionally there is far more diversity in the approaches and philosophies, and it's making things hard to wade through.

Oh, another concern is waiting lists. It seems a lot of good schools have super long waiting lists. Any recommendations or general advice is appreciated![/quote]

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