What is a Reasonable Price for Independent Classes?

By Mona K. Koerner

​I often hear, "We need more affordable classes for homeschoolers."  Does that mean we need more classes?  Or does that mean we need classes that are less expensive?  And then how are we to evaluate what a reasonable cost is for a class?  Obviously, "affordable" is a relative term.  If you are raising several children on a single income then 'affordable' might mean something different to you than to someone with greater income or fewer children.  The problem is there is no real measure of what 'affordable' means in learning environments.  In housing, the standard is that as long as you are not spending more than 1/3 of your income for housing then it is 'affordable.' What is a reasonable price for independent classes for your children?

Perhaps the best way to evaluate whether a class has a reasonable cost is to establish some kind of comparison.  For example, what do you pay your babysitter for an hour?  $7.50/hour?  $8.50/hour?  $10/hour?  Indeed.com reports that the average babysitter in Albuquerque gets paid $14.28/hour but the most commonly reported is $7.25/hour.  Isn't a class with a dynamic and experienced teacher that can impart new ways of learning in a loving environment worth more than that? How should you evaluate a class with an instructor who is passionate and knowledgeable and who will invest in our children and offer opportunities you can not - such as opportunities to learn from another adult, opportunities to interact with other students, opportunities to utilize materials, supplies, tools that may not be available to us, and opportunities to learn from a different perspective. Many people think public school is 'affordable' but perhaps that is only because someone else is paying for it.  

Last year KRQE news reported that Albuquerque Public Schools spends $16,000 per student per year.  If we divide that by the state-mandated 1080 hours of required instruction for high school then public school costs $14.81/hour. The state average spending per student is $9,752, which works out to about $9/hour. 

Perhaps we should compare it to time spent in a homeschool co-op.  Let's assume a typical homeschool co-op meets for 2 hours twice a month for a total of 28 hours in a semester.  That means that a parent has to invest 28 hours of time to teach in that co-op.  If we assume your time is worth minimum wage (again a conservative estimate because we know loving and teaching children is worth much more than minimum wage) of $8.95/hour, then you are 'investing' i.e. paying $250.60 per semester not including any co-op fees to be a part of the co-op. This is obviously a very affordable option for families with multiple students who can all participate for that one cost.  Economists measure the value of your time in terms of 'opportunity cost'.  That is, what could you earn during that 28 hours if you did something else or what is and hour or two of free time worth to you?  Using the 'opportunity cost' method, the cost of investing in a co-op may be much higher for you.   It was for me.  There are limits to co-ops as well, such as, what if the class offerings don't fit your needs?  Or what if you don't have 28 hours to invest?  Then paying for an independent class might be a good alternative, especially if it costs any where near $8.95/hour.  After all, how much might you value an hour of free time for yourself?

How do independent classes advertised by PLANT, Inc. compare? 

Of course, there are factors besides price to consider when evaluating an independent class.  These factors include:
 

• level of expertise of the instructor
• difficulty of subject matter
• whether teaching the class yourself or outsourcing makes more sense
• the amount of supplies or special materials needed for the class
• class size
• benefits of learning among other students

 
These additional factors are attributable to those classes that are more that $8.95/hour.   For example, Apologia Biology is a high school lab science class taught by an experienced teacher, which requires a number of supplies (such as dissection supplies) and might be something you would rather someone else teach.   The Robotics class makes use of a Lego Mindstorm robot.  The Nature Study course is taught by a PhD in Biology who will assist the students to actually participate in scientific discovery.  Spanish is taught by a native Spanish speaker from Mexico.  STEAM requires a number of supplies.  Fine Art makes use of professional art supplies, is taught by a Fine Artist, and has very small class sizes to ensure individual attention.
 
How do these classes compare to other available classes in Albuquerque?
 
Using a similar methodology by taking the advertised price of a class, calculating the total number of hours and determining the hourly rate for the class, here's how various classes compare.  Any registration fees or membership fees have not been included nor have any eligible discounts been considered.