WAYA Preschool (Austin, West, Shepherd: appointed, daycare, house)

[Dr.Mom]

Right now I'm now searching for preschools for my 3 year old in the Tarrytown area. I came across the program at WAYA (West Austin Youth Academy), which seemed good. The Director was very nice in the few emails we exchanged but I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with the program? Apparently, they always have a waiting list which is not a problem for us since we're not in Texas yet anyway. Any thoughts/opinions about the program would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Dr.Mom

Right now I'm now searching for preschools for my 3 year old in the Tarrytown area. I came across the program at WAYA (West Austin Youth Academy), which seemed good. The Director was very nice in the few emails we exchanged but I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with the program? Apparently, they always have a waiting list which is not a problem for us since we're not in Texas yet anyway. Any thoughts/opinions about the program would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Our 2 year old is at WAYA and we like it for what it is. It is incredibly inexpensive. The facilities are extremely good (probably one of a kind in austin) for sports and athletics, but not very good for academics (but hey they are preschoolers ) The teachers tend to be young and inexperienced and there is a bit of turnover as they are mostly seem to be young women who are in a transition period in their lives.

The teacher child ratios are very good, for 1.5-2 year olds I think the ratio is designed to be around 4:1, but because of student absenteeism it is often 3:1 or even 2:1.

There is pretty much no diversity, the parents are almost 100% upper middle class whites that live central.

[mimimomx3]

Where are you planning to send them for elementary? If you're interested in private, you might want to check into church-based preschools.

[GreenPlastic]

My oldest was there for awhile about 4 years ago. Like the previous responder, I found the "teachers" to be young and inexperienced. Many were college kids. I hear the 5 year old program was able to attract a top notch teacher a couple years back but it sounds like you aren't at that age yet. I found that most parents treated it as daycare, rather than pre-school, so there's not quite the community feel you would find at many schools. They have since re-branded as the WAYA Academy and may be trying to structure it differently now.

If you are looking for programs with more experienced teachers and a more structured environment, I'd take a look at the church-based programs such as the ones at Tarrytown UMC, Good Shepherd and All Saint's. I'm sure there are good non-church based programs...I'm just not familiar with any names.

[Dr.Mom]

Thanks so much for your responses. From reading their schedule online, it seemed a bit light on the academic portion to me. Right now, my dd is in a great Montessori program that is highly academic and she loves it. I'm really concerned about changing over to a program that does not prioritize academics.

Yes, we're going to do private school but I would prefer not to go the way of church based programs. I'd love to hear about any other options in the downtown area.

I have been very surprised about the costs of preschool in the Austin area. We're outside of Philly and I pay $415 a month for 5 days a week from 9am to 12 pm at a great Montessori school. The costs of all comparable programs in our area are pretty much the same. When looking at WAYA, there costs were pretty much in line with this. Most other places were outrageous. I figured that was why they always have a waiting list.

[mimimomx3]

You'll have a hard time finding non-church based preschools in central Austin. I would look at Lake Austin Montessori (it usually has a very long waiting list) and maybe Habibi's Hutch, if you're into very nontraditional, child centered, non academic, learn through play kind of preschool- which I don't think you are.

[centralaustinite]

Open Door Preschool has a downtown location and a central east location. They are completely secular although their central east location shares some space with a church.

long-established, high quality, NAEYC, and reasonable tuition and part time options BUT they usually have long wait lists.

The Open Door Preschool

[Dr.Mom]

Wow, I'm amazed at all of the places that have waiting lists. That's unheard of here. Maybe I should open a preschool when I get to Austin? Thanks again for the responses. I'll definitely check out the others mentioned. I'm a little disappointed that I can't find one close by, I really wanted to be able to walk to the school.

[centralaustinite]

I would be shocked (and a bit worried) to find a place without a waiting list! Yes, they are the rule not the exception in Austin. At least you have a three year old. It is usually a bit easier to find a spot for 3 & 4 year olds. But walking distance in Tarrytown and not church-based, and affordable? That combination just doesn't occur!

But I'm sure you will find something that will suit if you can compromise on one of your criteria.

good luck!

[Dr.Mom]

More compromises? Aack! We decided on Tarrytown to be close to our older one's school that (hopefully) our younger two will attend someday. We have never lived in a downtown area before and so put a lot of thought into our decsion. A few weeks ago, my daughter and I were in town for her school interview. The difference in lifestyles (at least as I perceived them) between the suburban areas in which we were looking and Tarrytown were striking. So, we'll have a much smaller house and a much, much smaller yard but hopefully we'll be more involved in the kids' schools and community at large. Plus, if the kids' schools are within walking distance, my conscience will make me forego the car and get my too large butt in gear.

Well, WAYA's location and price just can't be beat. Maybe we'll do other things like hire a foreign language tutor and find art or music lessons somewhere. Thanks for all of the input - you guys (aka "all y'all) are invaluable!