Because of our lower student-teacher ratios and smaller class sizes.  Payroll is by far the largest expense for any preschool and Aspen Leaf has far more teachers per student than any other preschool in the area.  For example, California law allows 2 to 5-year-olds to be in a class of up to 24 children with 2 teachers.  Our typical preschool classroom is less than half the size, but still with 2 full-time teachers as well as supporting teachers.

Preschools that own their real estate or have nonprofit status also have financial advantages that allow them to have a different business model and charge less in tuition.

The tuition rate is based on the classroom a child is in (and the rates are different because the student-teacher ratios are different).  Children in the infant classroom are subject to the infant tuition rate.  Children in the toddler classroom are subject to the toddler tuition rate.  Children in the preschool classrooms are subject to the preschool rate.

To enroll in one of our preschool classrooms, a child must be at least 2-years-old by September 1st of the school year.  So if your child turned two or older before September 1st of the current school year, he or she would start in a preschool classroom and thus be subject to the preschool tuition rate.

There is some confusing overlap in the age-groups for our infant classroom and toddler classroom, which is due entirely to regulations set by the childcare licensing agency.  As a result, there are times when a child could enroll in either classroom.  Under the licensing regulations, a child must be at least 18 months old to enroll in a toddler classroom.  So generally speaking, if a child is younger than 18 months today, then he or she would join the infant classroom if they were to start today.  If the child is at least 18 months old and turns 2 by September 1st of the upcoming school year, he or she would join the toddler classroom.

Yes.  Please contact us directly with questions about the specific subsidy you are or may be eligible for.

A child's tuition rate is based on the room the child is enrolled in, not their age on any given date.  So a child enrolled in the infant classroom is subject to the infant rate, and a child enrolled in a toddler classroom is subject to the toddler rate.  If a child changes classrooms, then their rate changes to the rate for the new classroom.  This is because our tuition rates are based on the student-teacher ratio for each classroom (the infant classroom has a lower ratio than the toddler classroom, which has a lower ratio than the preschool classrooms).

No.

We have phased out the sibling discount starting August 2024 because the per-spot cost of running a preschool are the same regardless of whether a spot is occupied by a sibling of another enrolled student, and .

We have also phased out the military discount because all Aspen Leaf Preschool locations are now eligible for the MCCYN military subsidy.  Active military families must apply for the MCCYN subsidy directly (https://public.militarychildcare.csd.disa.mil/mcc-central/mcchome/mccyn).

We require 60 days notice to reduce schedule or withdraw.

Yes, though this of course depends on space being available at the location you'd want to switch to.

Our downtown location is in the Schwartz Federal Building downtown. We operate under a contract with the federal General Services Administration, which is tasked with ensuring that federal employees have access to quality care. Accordingly, federal employees are given priority to enroll when spaces become available, and federal employees (including active military) are subject to a discounted rate.