Question For Those Who Have Different Rates By Age

[mamac]

Do you include the date that a child "ages out" of a certain tuition rate in their original contract?

I originally planned on having one rate for all ages but I just decided to up my rates for ages 2.9yrs-5yrs to cover the costs of their preschool curriculum. Should I include the new rate and the date that their child will move on to this new rate if they start prior to turning 2.9yrs in their contract? Or should it be just the date in case my rates go up before they reach that date? Or should they be grandfathered in at the current rate?

I currently have this at the end of my contract:

This contract is subject to review and renewal on ______________. The provider reserves the right to amend the policies and procedures as may be deemed necessary. Tuition rates and fees may change periodically but not more than once per contracted year. Otherwise, this contract will remain in effect until the renewal date or upon termination of care as set forth herein.

Should I amend that to include a new date and rate?



A little off topic from my original title but I'm also curious about what the differences are in your rates by age. I've read that some say infants are more work therefore they should pay more, but then wouldn't the preschoolers pay just as much for all the supplies needed for their curriculum that the infants don't get? Sorry about all the questions but this is what happens when dh's snoring keeps me up this late!

[Play Care]

Do you include the date that a child "ages out" of a certain tuition rate in their original contract?

I originally planned on having one rate for all ages but I just decided to up my rates for ages 2.9yrs-5yrs to cover the costs of their preschool curriculum. Should I include the new rate and the date that their child will move on to this new rate if they start prior to turning 2.9yrs in their contract? Or should it be just the date in case my rates go up before they reach that date? Or should they be grandfathered in at the current rate?

I currently have this at the end of my contract:

This contract is subject to review and renewal on ______________. The provider reserves the right to amend the policies and procedures as may be deemed necessary. Tuition rates and fees may change periodically but not more than once per contracted year. Otherwise, this contract will remain in effect until the renewal date or upon termination of care as set forth herein.

Should I amend that to include a new date and rate?



A little off topic from my original title but I'm also curious about what the differences are in your rates by age. I've read that some say infants are more work therefore they should pay more, but then wouldn't the preschoolers pay just as much for all the supplies needed for their curriculum that the infants don't get? Sorry about all the questions but this is what happens when dh's snoring keeps me up this late!

In my area it's common to charge more for infants (under 2) because we can only have 2 under 2 and when we have anyone under 2 we can only have a total of 5 FT spots. When your group is all 2 and up, you get 6 FT spots. When I started providing care I figured out how much I needed to make ends meet (pay any bills and have a healthy savings) and went from there.
My policy is that the parents start paying the lesser amount the week *after* the child's birthday (so I don't have to deal with refunds or credits which can be a pain).
I do not buy boxed curriculums for the preschoolers, recycle most of my art & craft supplies and use my public library for most of my theme related media (FREE!) plus, if I only have them I have an "extra" spot. For me, it is cheaper to have preschoolers so my price reflects that. I don't know that it would fly here for me to charge an additional fee for "preschool" and wonder if parents would ask to opt out of the preschool program if cost is an issue.

[DaisyMamma]

I charge more for children under age 2 because I can only have 2 children of that age. The week after they turn 2 the family starts paying the preschool rate.
In regards to curriculum I am only just starting that this coming school year and offer it to ages 18mo + up. Im going to charge a materials fee of $100 per semester (two semesters)
School age kids dont get curriculum, but I bet they would like it. I didn't think of that. I'm going to check it out.

[slorey]

I currently charge the same for all ages but will be changing my rate schedule as of September and will then be charging more for infants (age 2 and under). I tend to run my program on a school calendar so I update all paperwork, etc in September. If I have a child age out of the infant spot during the year, I think I would just do a new contract that would reflect the new rate. I don't think parents would have a problem signing a new contract for a lower rate. And, I would also wait until the first full week after the child's birthday before lowering rates.

[cheerfuldom]

I would keep the rates the same if it is just a change due to preschool curriculum. Then i would charge a curriculum/materials one time fee in the late summer. If you send out notice now, they can plan ahead for it. I would also share what curriculum you are using and a website, so they can see what the full cost is plus a description of what the fee covers and how ALL the money goes straight back to their child's education. It is not a rate/care increase, it is for educational tools only.

[mamac]

I would keep the rates the same if it is just a change due to preschool curriculum. Then i would charge a curriculum/materials one time fee in the late summer. If you send out notice now, they can plan ahead for it. I would also share what curriculum you are using and a website, so they can see what the full cost is plus a description of what the fee covers and how ALL the money goes straight back to their child's education. It is not a rate/care increase, it is for educational tools only.

This is what I may do. I won't officially open until Sept. so I'm still in the process if tweaking my rates, policies, etc. My first 2 clients will be infants so I'm not worried about this affecting what I already quoted them. The norm around here is to charge more for infants but I honestly don't see why they would be more work, really. They won't affect my total number of spots and I think that the time spent on infants vs the actual cost of providing materials and curriculum to the preschoolers would either equal out or cost more for the older group. I know, I know... Just wait and see, right? :: (All you veterans are probably having quite the chuckle right now, aren't you? ::)

Thanks everyone for your input. Some good points to consider.

[MsMimi]

I would keep the rates the same if it is just a change due to preschool curriculum. Then i would charge a curriculum/materials one time fee in the late summer. If you send out notice now, they can plan ahead for it. I would also share what curriculum you are using and a website, so they can see what the full cost is plus a description of what the fee covers and how ALL the money goes straight back to their child's education. It is not a rate/care increase, it is for educational tools only.

This is exactly what I do. I use the ABeka curriculum and send a notice out to the parents in June for the upcoming school year reminding them to reserve their spot for September and that the book (curriculum) fee is due by August 1st. I list the cost and all of the items the fee covers. I put the website at the bottom so they can check it out of they want.