“A healthy social life is found only when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living.”
— Rudolf Steiner
At LCWS, we are committed to ensuring that our program is accessible to families from as many different financial backgrounds as possible. We offer our Indexed Tuition program as a means to fulfill this commitment and to open our programs to families who might otherwise not be able to afford the cost of our tuition.
Indexed Tuition is a program that provides the opportunity for families to apply for a rate of tuition that is in line with their ability to pay. Factors used in determining your specific rate of tuition include your family’s financial circumstances, the number of students in your family attending our school, and the financial position of the school.
The purpose of our Indexed Tuition program is twofold: to assist families whose only barrier to an independent school education is the cost of tuition, and to enhance the entire student body.
LCWS is a tuition-driven institution.
Tuition is our primary means of providing for all of the expenses of the school—from the paper used in the classrooms, to the maintenance of our facilities, to the salaries of our faculty and staff. At this time, there is no pool of funds or endowment being dispersed. We are, however, the stewards of three buildings and over twenty acres of land, secured for us by our founding generation. It is our hope that in our generation, we will be able to establish an endowment fund for Indexed Tuition and scholarships.
Joining a Waldorf school is joining a community.
We are a community in which everyone commits personal time and resources toward fulfilling our common goal of giving our students what we trust is the best opportunity to cultivate a life of learning, exploration, and self-development. We believe deeply in the individual and collective benefits of this shared community work.
Diversity makes every community richer.
Our efforts toward maintaining diversity require the intention and investment of all community members. Thank you for your commitment to our community.
Applying for Indexed Tuition: Everything You Need to Know
The Lake Champlain Waldorf School welcomes any family in Kindergarten and above seeking Indexed Tuition to apply. The school uses Clarity, an independent company that collects all financial data in order to make the tuition determination. Parents fill out the online application which asks about family size, income, savings, investments, indebtedness, medical and dental expenses, any unusual expenses, and other assets such as home equity.
Our confidential third-party processor oversees the entire Indexed Tuition application and process.
The Clarity application is the primary source used for evaluating a family’s need for Indexed Tuition. This assessment service ensures that all applications are presented uniformly and evaluated thoroughly and objectively. The LCWS Scholarship Committee is authorized to consider specific circumstances, and to modify Clarity’s determined Indexed Tuition based on additional information. Indexed Tuition decisions are based on the assessment of applicants’ needs while ensuring the financial well-being of the school.
LCWS is eager to welcome students whose identity contributes to the diversity of our community on the basis of culture and language, religion, family structure, economic class, gender identity and expression, racial identity, or differing abilities. Diversity & Inclusion Fund Scholarship recipients may be eligible for up to 115% of tuition in recognition of the additional expenses (transportation, instrument rental, outdoor gear, etc) that may be involved in attending LCWS. Diversity & Inclusion Fund Scholarships are separate from Indexed Tuition, and require separate applications, but families are welcome to apply for both.
To apply for Indexed Tuition, fill out the Clarity Application.
Clarity provides a step-by-step explanation of the application process. Families are responsible for the $55 processing fee, and one form is used for all siblings within a family. All financially responsible parents and guardians (custodial and non-custodial) must complete and submit the Clarity Application. In the case of divorced parents with joint financial obligations to tuition, each parent’s financial position will be considered separately based on the percentage of tuition for which they are responsible. Both parents must fill out individual applications. Only those who fill out the application will be considered for Indexed Tuition. When appropriate, a separate contract will be written for each parent incorporating their portion of the tuition.
Indexed Tuition determinations are made on an annual basis and only apply to the upcoming academic year.
Questions?
If you have any questions about your Indexed Tuition determination, please email indexedtuition@lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org. If you have any questions about Indexed Tuition in general or the Clarity application process, please contact our Enrollment Director at (802) 234-8859 or admissions@lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org.