The cost of tuition should not be a barrier to considering whether Open Window School would be a great fit for your child. The financial aid program is to provide financial assistance to families for whom, without such assistance, an Open Window education would not be an option. We seek to offer our students a learning environment that is representative of our surrounding community: socially, culturally, and economically. This year 15% of our students receive needs-based tuition assistance in the form of financial aid. Currently more than $1.1 million in need-based aid is provided to families annually, and that total continues to grow every year. There is a wide range of aid awards that a family may qualify for. In the 2023-2024 school year, families receiving financial aid pay between $2,500-$36,800 annually for tuition, representing aid awards covering approximately 4%-93% of tuition. We encourage families to apply for financial aid, as we believe that socio-economic diversity benefits all families in our community.
Tuition for the 2023-2024 school year is $36,000 for grades K-4 and $40,360 for grades 5-8. Everything that happens within the school day is covered by tuition, including overnight trips, which begin in fourth grade. A deposit of $1,500 is required with the contract, and families can choose from three different payment plans for the remainder of tuition: one in-full payment, quarterly payments, or ten monthly payments. Before and after school care, transportation, and any extracurricular activities will incur an additional cost.
In addition to tuition assistance, Open Window School offers enrichment aid for programs not covered by tuition. We will strive to meet the aid requests for the bus transportation program, extra-curricular school programs, such as after-school clubs and athletics, and other eligible cost of attendance and fee-charging school activities. These programs are offered to enrich a student’s Open Window experience and provide activities to strengthen social interactions and community involvement. Enrichment aid is not limited to those families currently receiving tuition assistance. Expenses incurred for the use of the before and after school care program are factored into Financial Aid Awards. Consequently, there is no separate aid for before and after school child care.
Financial Aid is awarded based on a family's ability to pay, not their willingness to pay. A variety of criteria are considered, including income (taxable and nontaxable), assets, number of dependents, age of parents, number of children attending tuition-based schools, number of parents who are working, etc. This information is balanced with data about living expenses, medical costs, indebtedness, and other factors such as child support and legal expenses.
To gather information and objectively evaluate it, Open Window School subscribes to School and Student Service (SSS) for Financial Aid, a service methodology provided by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). All financial aid application information, including requested supporting documentation, should be submitted to SSS. Applications for the 2023-2024 school year will be available in the fall, date TBD.
Please see our Financial Aid Policy for more information about our Philosophy and Guidelines, including the requirement that dual household families (separated, divorced, never married) submit financial information for both households.
Please contact our Controller, Hongmei Li, with any questions you have about financial aid at Open Window School.