It cost around $125 a month to send my son Benjamin to a private pre-k program five years ago. It was by far the least expensive program I could find at the time. I worried that he would not be admitted, which would have meant paying two or three times as much at a pricier preschool.
Fortunately, after six months on a waitlist, Benjamin did get accepted into the more affordable program. But since then, the cost of pre-kindergarten and child care has skyrocketed. Meanwhile, the number of available preschool slots has fallen, largely because of closures and temporary shutdowns resulting from the COVID pandemic.
