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Forum -> Chinuch, Education & Schooling
Universal Pre-K & tuition - can someone explain?
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amother


 

Post Mon, Sep 15 2014, 9:10 pm
My DD is enrolled in kindergarten (that's Pre-K for the non-NYers) in a local Bais Yaakov. The school is getting funding from Universal Pre-K for her. I have filled out about a gazillion forms for it and I thought that one of them said something about schools receiving UPK funding not being allowed to charge tuition on top of the funding that they receive. I can't find anything about that online, however.

Does anyone know the official rules?

(I live in NYC.)
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amother


 

Post Mon, Sep 15 2014, 9:56 pm
I live in Monsey. UPK is for 2 1/2 a day (at-least when my last DC attended). The school usually has hours longer than that. They may charge you for those additional hours. Your kindergarten tuition should be cheaper than Pre1A.
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MaBelleVie




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 15 2014, 10:01 pm
What amother said... They can charge whatever they want on top of what they're getting to cover the rest of the school day. UPK basically gives you a tuition discount.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 15 2014, 10:05 pm
Could be separate hours - e.g. UPK covers certain hours and if the school day is longer they can charge separately for that as a private extended day thing. My understanding is that parents sending to UPK schools pay significantly less tuition than regular. I WISH my kid's school would apply for this!
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amother


 

Post Mon, Sep 15 2014, 11:04 pm
UPK this year is supposed to be free if your school got it. Some schools are charging money by putting it as additional fees, building fund, registration. ...
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STovah




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 3:52 am
amother wrote:
UPK this year is supposed to be free if your school got it. Some schools are charging money by putting it as additional fees, building fund, registration. ...


I think that's only if it is a full day UPK program. The half day program is still only 2.5 hours so schools can charge for the rest of the day.
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amother


 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 4:41 am
1. Your complaint here might as well be very wrong, it's called 'Mesireh' 2x wrong does not equal right. 2. Did the school mislead you about tuition cost?
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Barbara




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 7:07 am
Quote:
10. Does a parochial school qualify as an eligible agency?

Eligible agency means an existing provider of child care and early education. Therefore, parochial or other religious schools that operate prekindergarten programs qualify as eligible agencies. When providing UPK services, such schools must provide proper constitutional safeguards similar to those employed in Title I programs. Religious instruction cannot be provided in the UPK program and religious symbols should be removed or covered.


If your child is receiving any religious instruction whatsoever -- learning about Jewish holidays, discussing the parsha, learning brachas -- then s/he is enrolled in a half-day UPK, and the religious instruction is being conducted during the half day that you're paying for, and that is therefore not subject to UPK rules.
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mommy3b2c




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 8:32 am
my sons were in UPK and I still paid full tuition.
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octopus




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 8:55 am
don't worry, hon, whatever loophole the school can jump through and charge- they will. don't hold your breath that if that school tax credit thingy ever goes through, that you will get to see a penny of it. Schools will just charge more tuition. yeshiva parents just don't get a break. and that's why I have very, very little sympathy for the schools when they start crying about money. They pinch money off of the teachers' salary that bring federal/city funding into the school. some yeshivas are charging money for the free bus service the city provides (latest shtick). and the upk? even if your school gets the full day, they will still charge full price- they will not pass the savings onto you.
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MaBelleVie




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 9:08 am
Sorry for everyone who is getting screwed over, but the school I send to reduces the full amount they are getting from upk from the total tuition cost. And the tuition is consistent with what they charge for other classes. If you know that your school isn't going to pass along the savings you can let them know that you won't be filling out the paperwork.
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amother


 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 10:05 am
Stated tuition for kindergarten is the same as for all other grades. I did receive a tuition need-based discount, but I am fairly certain that it was independent of UPK.

Definitely religious instruction but also a fair amount of secular instruction, which I think is probably to comply with UPK rules. Total school day is 5.25 hours Mon-Thurs (3.25 on Fri).

amother above, I am not planning on reporting them to anyone. I am just confused; if they are indeed getting UPK, shouldn't the stated tuition be half of the tuition for grades Pre-1A - 8th? (And if so, I don't have to feel like I got a discount. Smile)
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princessleah




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 12:11 pm
My DS is in a UPK program. They are funded from 8-2:20. That's considered "full day" UPK. It's in a daycare setting so sometimes he stays until 5:30. We pay the 'tuition' for the hours from 2:20-5:30.

It's much less than the tuition we pay for the younger kid who does the same hours with no UPK. But they did hit us with a 'snack fee' on top of the tuition that was annoying.

To sum, if your child is in UPK (was he/she born in 2010?) then you should be paying less for tuition than last year. PS it also includes free lunch, and I hope you are getting that! Life changing.
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amother


 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 1:30 pm
Yes, born in 2010.

No to free lunch. And the school stopped the free/reduced-price (federal?) lunch program too.

So to summarize: if the school is getting paid through UPK for 2.5 hours a day of my DD's education, shouldn't the tuition be roughly half the cost of Pre-1A tuition? Is it legal to charge tuition for the UPK hours? If not, is it legal to charge double the going rate of tuition for the non-UPK hours?

Or is the school doing something illegal and I'd better shut down this thread before someone figures it out and turns them in?
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amother


 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 1:33 pm
octopus wrote:
don't worry, hon, whatever loophole the school can jump through and charge- they will. don't hold your breath that if that school tax credit thingy ever goes through, that you will get to see a penny of it. Schools will just charge more tuition. yeshiva parents just don't get a break. and that's why I have very, very little sympathy for the schools when they start crying about money. They pinch money off of the teachers' salary that bring federal/city funding into the school. some yeshivas are charging money for the free bus service the city provides (latest shtick). and the upk? even if your school gets the full day, they will still charge full price- they will not pass the savings onto you.
\

(OP) I kind of think that about tuition vouchers, too. If they ever go through, parents won't see a penny of the savings...

But that's because as far as I can tell, the tuition model is to charge as much as the schools can get. (Cue to throw rotten tomatoes.)
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princessleah




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 1:39 pm
amother wrote:
Yes, born in 2010.

No to free lunch. And the school stopped the free/reduced-price (federal?) lunch program too.

So to summarize: if the school is getting paid through UPK for 2.5 hours a day of my DD's education, shouldn't the tuition be roughly half the cost of Pre-1A tuition? Is it legal to charge tuition for the UPK hours? If not, is it legal to charge double the going rate of tuition for the non-UPK hours?

Or is the school doing something illegal and I'd better shut down this thread before someone figures it out and turns them in?


You don't get the lunch because you only have 2.5 hours and not the 6 hours. bummer.
I DO think that 2.5 hours should be free for you. I guess they can charge whatever they want for the other hours, I don't think it's particularly nice or ethical though.... Confused

Did you speak to anyone and ask why the tuition did not go down?
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MaBelleVie




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 1:40 pm
The school can charge whatever they want for the non upk hours, legally. Ethically, they should be sharing the savings with the parents. Why don't you ask them about it?
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pgk




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 6:04 pm
Apparently I send to the same school (lunch kinda gave it away) I was told by the school that the UPK funding allows them to have smaller class sz (3 classes of 20 as opposed to 2 classes of 30) for kindergarten.
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iluvy




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 7:21 pm
We are really annoyed about this.

We paid $500/month last year (nursery). We're paying $800/month this year (kindergarten). Kindergarten is a half hour longer. She had 26 kids in her nursery class, she has 20 kids in her kindergarten class. Sure, they can charge whatever they want for the non-UPK hours, but they can't pretend that it's fair. It's outrageous that we get no tuition help from UPK whatsoever. I wish we had refused to fill out the forms Sad.
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amother


 

Post Tue, Sep 16 2014, 7:25 pm
pgk wrote:
Apparently I send to the same school (lunch kinda gave it away) I was told by the school that the UPK funding allows them to have smaller class sz (3 classes of 20 as opposed to 2 classes of 30) for kindergarten.


OP here

(wave)

Guess I'd better avoid any more personal details?
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