School Ratings Thread - Start One & Keep On Top? (Atlanta: buy, best school)

[lastminutemom]

You missed the lottery and you have to already own your home to participate (proof of residence is required), but Kingsley is a very small school. It is certainly worth a call to find out how many applications they had (there are twenty seats). Once you close on your house, you should be able to submit an application to get on the waitlist.

also check out the website below, it will give you a list of centers that participate in the GA pre-k program.

Bright from the Start - Pre-K

lots of non-profit and for-profit day cares participate.

[RoslynHolcomb]

I think it was April 18, according to their website. Oh well, I guess I'll have to look into daycare. I was really hoping to avoid that, but I will be working full-time. I loved the church pre-school we had here, but that's only 3 half--days a week, that wouldn't be enough hours for me to work.

I don't even want to think about what daycare costs around that area. Yikes! I don't want to put him in daycare, I really prefer the environment of a pre-K, but I don't know what else to do. Any recommendations.

[CMMom]

A lot of my friends in Dunwoody who work full-time send their kids to Dunwoody Prep. I have met the director, and think that she is pretty great (Jane Newman). It is right in the middle of Dunwoody in the Dunwoody Village shopping center.

Dunwoody Prep, A Private Pre-School and Nursery

[Lemur2004]

Lol. You all are completely correct. If someone had told me that I would EVER have considered paying fifteen grand on kindergarten (not even a full day at that) I may have slapped him or her. Now look at me. . .

Also, the college issue is a huge one. I suspect private colleges will be 60 grand by the time my child is old enough to attend. I hate the idea of saddling her with that kind of debt. On the other hand (and I know y'all will be ready to kill me), as a state Georgia public schools have a pretty bad national reputation. I know there are some excellent ones, I'm just not sure I'm near them.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by Lemur2004

Lol. You all are completely correct. If someone had told me that I would EVER have considered paying fifteen grand on kindergarten (not even a full day at that) I may have slapped him or her. Now look at me. . .

Also, the college issue is a huge one. I suspect private colleges will be 60 grand by the time my child is old enough to attend. I hate the idea of saddling her with that kind of debt. On the other hand (and I know y'all will be ready to kill me), as a state Georgia public schools have a pretty bad national reputation. I know there are some excellent ones, I'm just not sure I'm near them.

OK, Lemur, just where are you? I bet someone here will have an opinion on your local schools.

Here's what to do with your money. Open a 529 plan. The Georgia plan Georgia Home Page | Path2College 529 Plan is pretty good - it's managed by TIAA-CREF, good managers - but you can choose other states as well. Figure out how much to contribute to ensure your daughter doesn't have to leave college with a pile of debt. Then, as LastMinuteMom advised, if you have more money than needed for college savings, think about private school.

My own daughter is in all AC (advanced content) classes at a top-notch public middle school, and she'll be moving on to a very highly rated and high test-scoring public high school. Also, although she doesn't know it yet, her 529 plan should see her handily through college.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

I think it was April 18, according to their website. Oh well, I guess I'll have to look into daycare. I was really hoping to avoid that, but I will be working full-time. I loved the church pre-school we had here, but that's only 3 half--days a week, that wouldn't be enough hours for me to work.

I don't even want to think about what daycare costs around that area. Yikes! I don't want to put him in daycare, I really prefer the environment of a pre-K, but I don't know what else to do. Any recommendations.

Hello Roslyn...

You may not understand, Georgia's free Pre-K is not only located in the public schools. You can easily find a Pre-K environment...it just probably won't be at Kingsley. See the previous post by lastminutemom.

You'll get a Pre-K environment...not day care!

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Lemur2004

Lol. You all are completely correct. If someone had told me that I would EVER have considered paying fifteen grand on kindergarten (not even a full day at that) I may have slapped him or her. Now look at me. . .

Also, the college issue is a huge one. I suspect private colleges will be 60 grand by the time my child is old enough to attend. I hate the idea of saddling her with that kind of debt. On the other hand (and I know y'all will be ready to kill me), as a state Georgia public schools have a pretty bad national reputation. I know there are some excellent ones, I'm just not sure I'm near them.

If you are from Georgia, you are a hot commodity to schools around the country! Universities/colleges do not judge students by the supposed reputation of the state. What they really want is regional/geographical diversity. Most universities/colleges are overloaded with students from California, New York, New Jersey, and the rest of the Northeast.

A Georgia public school will actually be an asset.

[Lemur2004]

Rainy Day and Aries,

I moved to Fayetteville because of the schools, but I can't take the commute so I plan to put my house on sale next March--crummy market or not. I found a preschool that I love, so like a nutcase I drive from Fayetteville to Sandy Springs (where the preschool is) and then to work in mid-town.

I agree with your point aries. I applied to colleges in the Northeast from New Jersey. Georgia is definitely more in demand. Now if only the idea of North Dakota appealed to me, my daughter might be a shoo in at Harvard! LOL!!!

[RoslynHolcomb]

Okay, I got it now Aries. Thanks. I found two in my zip code Hightower Elementary and Winters Chapel Kindergarten. I'll give them both a call.

[RoslynHolcomb]

Okay, both of those are out of the question. I'll keep looking.