The high cost of sending children back to school

[Dolores]

A report in El Dia estimates between the RD$25,000 and RD$30,000 the cost of sending children back to school. The amount is greater in the case of private schools. Schools have been closed for in-person learning since March 2020. Now the government has authorized all schools to reopen for in-person learning as of 20 September 2021.

The cost of school uniforms, school supplies and books is the highest this year.

Read more in Spanish:El Dia

6 September 2021

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[bob saunders]

Sounds excessive. Uniforms in total( shoes, pants,, t-shirts, polos) would be around 3000 pesos. In public school the books would be free.

 

[bob saunders]

The article isn't entirely incorrect but parents have had considerable time to prepare for schools reopening. As we start to register children it is surprising the amount of parents that didn't register their children anywhere, creating the need for them to repeat a grade. We were getting a lot of flack in the past for having a price for materials ( 1700 pesos) and were told that we were ripping them off so this year my wife has told people to buy their own materials ( think they will be in for a rude shock at how much they spend) We have had a number of potential clients say they won't get vaccinated so my wife tells them to look elsewhere to put their children in school. People have no idea of the cost to keep a business running through the pandemic. The garbage collect fees, water, phones, electricity, wages, taxes, and maintenance costs are still there open or not.

 

[NanSanPedro]

The article isn't entirely incorrect but parents have had considerable time to prepare for schools reopening. As we start to register children it is surprising the amount of parents that didn't register their children anywhere, creating the need for them to repeat a grade. We were getting a lot of flack in the past for having a price for materials ( 1700 pesos) and were told that we were ripping them off so this year my wife has told people to buy their own materials ( think they will be in for a rude shock at how much they spend) We have had a number of potential clients say they won't get vaccinated so my wife tells them to look elsewhere to put their children in school. People have no idea of the cost to keep a business running through the pandemic. The garbage collect fees, water, phones, electricity, wages, taxes, and maintenance costs are still there open or not.

Bob, I know you said you paid wages during the closure, but taxes too? On what?

 

[bob saunders]

Bob, I know you said you paid wages during the closure, but taxes too? On what?

Whenever you pay wages there is an assortment of social taxes you have to pay including social security....etc. On forty employees it is over 100,000 pesos each month.

 

[cavok]

A friend of mine said that all the kids in the public school in Cabarete were given free tablet computers and will later be receiving free laptops.

 

[Drperson]

A friend of mine said that all the kids in the public school in Cabarete were given free tablet computers and will later be receiving free laptops.

We got a tablet in puerto plata for our youngst child and are waiting to hear something abou the laptops in Navas near Guananico. Apparently there are school supplies but we dont know yet

 

[cavok]

We got a tablet in puerto plata for our youngst child and are waiting to hear something abou the laptops in Navas near Guananico. Apparently there are school supplies but we dont know yet

I was really impressed that they are giving the kids free tablets. It's a fairly big tablet, too.

 

[franco1111]

Buying five of the Santillana books and three other kind of books for one child runs up the price at the colegio. Mil seis sientos pesos for each of the Santillana books. There is a discount at the La Sirena stores now for school supplies. If you buy two of the same things, you pay full price for the first and they give you a 50 percent discount on the second.

 

[cavok]

Why don't these colegios have used books for sale? The university I went to did and they were a fraction of the price of a new book.

 

[JD Jones]

Whenever you pay wages there is an assortment of social taxes you have to pay including social security....etc. On forty employees it is over 100,000 pesos each month.

Holy Cow Bob, that's a bargain! I was paying a little over half of that just for 16 employees!

 

[Seamonkey]

The price of books here is insane. My daughter goes to a semi-private school and her books were nearly 6000 pesos, plus she needed special pens, crayons, paper and a bunch of other stuff. Total was over 10k. Her uniform was over and above that.

 

[Auryn]

Public education funding in Canada ranges roughly anywhere from $10,000-$15,000 per pupil, per year.
Imagine what a comparative investment could do for Dominican public education. Comparative would be the catch though, because there would be many factors to consider.

 

[NanSanPedro]

The price of books here is insane. My daughter goes to a semi-private school and her books were nearly 6000 pesos, plus she needed special pens, crayons, paper and a bunch of other stuff. Total was over 10k. Her uniform was over and above that.

OK, you got me. What is a "special pen?" If she needed crayons then I'm assuming she's not yet in high school.

 

[chico bill]

Don't forget backpacks and new shoes. And one uniform is not enough as they get dirty mid-week. And of course new extensions and other bling to show off your child

 

[bob saunders]

The price of books here is insane. My daughter goes to a semi-private school and her books were nearly 6000 pesos, plus she needed special pens, crayons, paper and a bunch of other stuff. Total was over 10k. Her uniform was over and above that.

If you quick enough you can usually get used copies of the same books at a Liberia for around 500 pesos each. Used but usually in good condition.

 

[bob saunders]

A friend of mine said that all the kids in the public school in Cabarete were given free tablet computers and will later be receiving free laptops.

Do you think that will improve their knowledge?

 

[Seamonkey]

OK, you got me. What is a "special pen?" If she needed crayons then I'm assuming she's not yet in high school.

The pen had to be a specific ballpoint pen and blue. The pencils had to be B1 or something like that, Highlighters, erasers, paper....the list never ended. Of course she also wanted ice cream....she always wins!

 

[cavok]

Do you think that will improve their knowledge?

They need them to do some of the homework assignments they are given and also, I think, for some of the classwork they do. Being computer literate these days is very important, so it will improve their knowledge in that area. Computers can be an excellent teaching tool.

 

[NanSanPedro]

They need them to do some of the homework assignments they are given and also, I think, for some of the classwork they do. Being computer literate these days is very important, so it will improve their knowledge in that area. Computers can be an excellent teaching tool.

But you're presupposing that the teachers know how to use it outside of Facebook, Instagram, and Tweeter. I seriously doubt that over 10% of the teachers could right a math formula in Excel or construct a Table of Contents in Word, much less do queries in Access. Computer literacy is too subjective a term.