How Full Are Preschools?

The Margaret Bundy Scott Child Development Center’s low enrollment is unusual for Pasadena, where preschools tend to be about 75% full, said Gaylon Potter, a specialist with the Child Care Information Service, a private, nonprofit agency that operates a resource and referral agency for child care in the West San Gabriel Valley.

Of the 71 preschool centers in Pasadena, only eight offer government-funded subsidies to low-income families and those schools are nearly always filled, Potter said. Enrollment at other schools varies depending on price and location, she said.

Here are tuition rates and enrollment levels for some Pasadena preschools:

The Pacific Oaks Children’s School, 714 W. California Blvd., is already at its capacity of 25 students, and has turned away about 30 families for next fall’s program, office manager Julie DeKoenig said. The program, affiliated with a private college emphasizing early childhood education, costs $575 monthly.

The All Saints Children’s Center, 132 N. Euclid Ave., is licensed for 60 children and is full, assistant director Myrna Shadley said. She said the center is already accepting applications from people who want to enroll their children in 1992. The center’s location, next to Pasadena City Hall and the Superior Court, makes it particularly attractive to parents, Shadley said. It costs $375 a month.

The Allegra School, 1194 E. Washington Blvd., is full with 72 students, executive director Toni Hegemier said. The cost is $304 a month.

The Pumpkin Patch preschool, 285 E. Orange Grove Blvd., has yet to reach its full enrollment of 24, director Terri Joseph said. Currently the school has 16 children enrolled and costs $240 monthly. Its remaining slots are open to children from families eligible for government subsidies, but state funds are limited and may not be available, Joseph said.