ACCESSIBLE TUITION PROGRAM (“ATP”)
“The ATP program creates a unique social experiment.
It gives individuals an opportunity to rise above egotism
and self-interest, to distinguish between needs and
desires, to view the common good – mutual reciprocity –
as primary, and to create a genuine “shared world”, a
true community.”
– Vivian Jones-Schmidt
Statement of Purpose of ATP
Our tuition adjustment program is based on the ideal that Waldorf education should be
accessible to all families who value it, regardless of their economic status. Through our tuition
adjustment program, we ensure that the acceptance of a child into our school does not
depend on the financial resources of the child’s family.
Special notes for families with children in Kindergarten or Nursery
The school is committed to stretching to meet the needs of families. However, the school
must also be fiscally responsible to meet its own needs and cover our basic operating costs,
including the cost of adding assistants to the kindergarten should the teacher/child ratio
require us to do so. For this reason, we have had to put a few limitations on tuition adjustment
for the early years program and in some cases limit the number of spots available in the
kindergarten. These limitations are as follows.
1) Generally, fee adjustment through the ATP program is not available for lunchtime and/or
afternoon care unless both parents are working or in school (full-time) and there is no
other appropriate caregiver for the child(ren).
2) Fee adjustment through the ATP program is not available for a child who is not yet 4 years
old by the beginning of the school year if there is a stay-at-home caregiver.
3) For children in the PK program where the proposed fee adjustment would result in the
actual agreement amount for that child being less than 30% of the full tuition guideline, a
spot for the child cannot be guaranteed at the time of application or tuition conversation.
a) By June 15th the school will determine the number of PK morning and afternoon
classes being offered and thus determine if additional spots are available. There is no
guarantee that any additional spots will be made available.
b) For those families with tuition conversations and agreements (awaiting signatures)
completed by 5pm, June 15th, where the fee adjustment would result in the agreement
falling below 30% of the full tuition guideline, the PK child will be placed on a waiting
list and spots will be offered on a lottery basis as available. This does not impact
children in the Grade school program for this family.
Please contact the Business Office for more details on the lottery process or the
amount of the agreement allocated to the PK child, for families with children in both PK
and the Grade School.
(Families with either Grade school or PK children enrolled in the school before March 1, 2009
are exempt from points 2 and 3.)
ATP and Confidentiality
The ATP Committee has developed a confidentiality policy that is reviewed regularly. The
Business Office and Members of the ATP Committee undertake to keep all information,
including the fact that you have applied, in strictest confidence. Please note that we require
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that you keep the details of your tuition conversation and the resulting adjustment in strictest
confidence as well. We specifically ask that you keep this information confidential from your
child’s teacher and other faculty members. It is important to them that this information is kept
confidential.
Should a concern arise, the Business Manager and ATP conversationalists will continue to
work in confidence with the family. However, if the ATP program is abused or not respected
then a discussion with the teachers may be held to determine whether the school as a whole
can continue to hold that particular family. During this discussion, the situation that has arisen
will be shared with the faculty.
Enrolment in the London Waldorf School after March 31, 2013
If you are enrolling your child in the school after March 31, 2013 you must submit the ATP
application and information with your admission application to the school. Your tuition
conversation will be held directly after the faculty has accepted your child/children. Children
are permitted to visit in the classroom for a maximum of three days. If the tuition conversation
has not been held within that time period or if no agreement has been reached, then the
children must take a break from the classroom until such time as the Tuition Adjustment
Agreement has been signed. This is done so that children do not become too firmly rooted in
the class before both levels of acceptances (faculty and ATP) have been completed.
It is expected that the required registration fee be paid within a week of being accepted into
the school. The school’s policy regarding the registration fee would then apply.
Donations to the school and the ATP program
It is expected that every family contribute as much as they can to the school. From time to
time, families will be able to contribute more in any given month than their monthly payment
without requiring a new tuition conversation. Donations to the school are most welcome.
However, government regulations prevent us from issuing you a charitable tax receipt for this
donation until the full fee level has been reached.
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