High quality pre-school advice (Austin, Shepherd: credit, daycare, how much)

[wannakatana]

I need to find a high quality pre-school for my 4 yo daughter in Austin. I will be working downtown but am not sure where I'll be living. The location of a good school may dictate where I live to be close to that and work. Close meaning maybe get to the school and then to work in 30 minutes or less.

Thanks!

Joel

[curious1111]

We have been highly satisfied with St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School in the Northwest Hills area. We live near downtown also. Cant say enough.

[clarksvillemom]

St David episcopal, child's day, all
Saints episcopal, first English Lutheran , primavera montessori

[wannakatana]

primavera montessori is full for the Fall :-( Thanks for the suggestions so far. I was hoping more people would reply.

[Trainwreck20]

There are a lot of high quality preschools, depending on you definition. Do you want parochial or non-parochial? Is cost a factor? Without SOME geography limits, you could run into potential hundreds of schools, many of which would not have a 'representative' on C-D.

In general, if you want a professionally run place with specific accreditation, then the chains are all generally good - Primrose, Children's Courtyard, and Bright Horizons are all national chains and although there are probably a few disgruntled parents for each, I personally know pretty particular people that are happy at each of those in at least one of their locations in Austin. These are all pretty much non-religious (by policy), so you may find a wider variety of kids there. I have heard some good things about the Stepping Stone school near us, but don't know anyone there and we did not visit it, so can't really say.

On the other side, the parochial schools tend to be cheaper (60-75% of the cost, I would estimate) and can be excellent, as well. I can't think of the name of it (maybe Abiding Love?), but I know the Lutheran daycare down the street got rave reviews from the one person I know that went there.

Really can't help you much, though, on specifics. Have you thought about whether you want the daycare close to work (easy to get to if they get sick) or close to home (minimize time in the car for the kids)?

[curious1111]

Agree it depends on what you are looking for...

What do you mean by "quality"? If you mean private Pre-K to K programs that feed the "better" private schools in Austin, then I still say that the Episcopal preschools (I am not Episcopal by the way) - St. David, Good Shepherd, St. Matthew's, etc. are some of the "best". All this is relative. They are also the most expensive and difficult to get into...in our experience any way.

[centralaustinite]

St. Francis School has a well-regarded pre-K program for 3 and 4 year olds. Not sure if there is space and only runs during the school year. Open Door Central is very close to downtown, NAEYC accredited, and high quality. They also have two eastside locations.

First English is good.
Many places are going to be full for the fall -- although finding care for a 4 year old without much notice is much easier than doing it for a 12 month old!

good luck

[Salgal1113]

Both of my kids attended The Corner School from the time they were 6 weeks old. The Corner School was formerly only for the employees of the Texas Association of School Boards, but now accepts kids from the community.

It is a fabulous school - accredited, well-run, well-staffed, well-supplied. I can't say enough great things about it! Unfortunately, I no longer have any idea about costs or availability since my kids are gone.

You can find out more here: TASB Tour of Child Care: The Corner School

[hsc2]

what are you looking for in a preschool? thats the key question. do you want full learning which will mean a private school environment, some learning likely to be a montessori or structured play with a small amount of learning - most of the parochial schools we have seen. we have a 3 year old and we wanted a full academic offering including languages which most of the schools mentioned dont offer at his age but which some schools do offer.

i think if you can decide how much academics you want that will be important and then try and find a school with space.

[gatorInCA]

1. The Pre-K 2 (Ms. Maria's room) in Children's Courtyard @ William Cannons is very good. Kids love and listen to Ms. Maria, and they learn a lot from Ms. Maria's class.

2. Lake Hill Montessori (in 78733) may have openings in Fall. They are gonna open a new primary room (age 3-6) in this Fall.

3. The Child's Day is nice too and close to downtown.