Admissions Process for our Mixed-Age PreK & Kindergarten Program
Orchard Valley offers Early Childhood programs for PreK and Kindergarten age children at its Grace Farm campus, situated on 55 beautiful acres of rolling hills and river frontage in East Montpelier. Interested in joining our school?
1) Visit
We invite you to visit our beautiful campus and witness the magic of a Waldorf Early Childhood education. Join us for a scheduled tour or contact the Admissions Director to schedule.
Upcoming Scheduled Tour Dates
Monday April 15, 2024 at 9am
2) Apply
We welcome applications for our Mixed Age Kindergarten for children that will turn 3 years old by June 1st.
Please complete an application and return it with the non-refundable $50 application fee. If you qualify for, and intend to apply for CCFAP (child care subsidy), this fee is waived. We will confirm receipt.
3) Admissions Interview
Once an application has been received, the parent(s)/guardian(s) will be contacted to schedule an interview with the class teacher. This interview is an opportunity for parents and the teacher to exchange pertinent information. The program and Waldorf pedagogy are discussed to help the family determine if the program is right for their family and their child.
For our Mixed Age PreK & Kindergarten program, no formal assessment is performed, other than meeting and interacting with the child.
4) Admissions Decisions
After the student visit, all of the observations are gathered and the Admissions Committee reaches a decision (sometimes quite informally through conversations). Our Admissions Committee consists of the class teacher, our Support Services Coordinator and the Admissions Director. Considerations include, but are not limited to: date application was received, sibling relationship to enrolled students, teacher assessment of a child’s readiness for the program, willingness of family to work with the Waldorf philosophy including the media policy, and a commitment to Waldorf education. When the number of applications exceeds capacity, we will create a waiting pool.
Parents are notified by email of the admission decision.
5) Tuition
Kindergarten:
Children completing their last year of kindergarten, and enrolled in our 5 day/week program will pay tuition according to our Tiered Tuition model.
PUBLICLY FUNDED PRE-K:
Regardless of parental income or circumstance, all children who are age 3, 4 or 5 on or before their school district’s kindergarten entry date (and who are not enrolled in a state-accredited, public or private kindergarten) are eligible to receive funding from the state Pre-K funding grant until their 6th birthday.
If your child will be going into 1st grade in the following year, they will not be eligible for this funding. For the 2023-24 school year the Pre-K funding grant is $3,884 per child. Click here for more details. Also see: PDF of VT Pre-K FAQs
Once a child turns 6 they are then considered to be "of kindergarten age" and may complete 1-2 years of kindergarten (depending on birth date and readiness) prior to rising to 1st grade.
6) Enrollment
Completing a contract through our online parent portal and paying a non-refundable enrollment deposit finalizes enrollment. Deposits paid will be credited toward the tuition obligation. School policy and state law require that all enrollment forms must be returned to the school prior to a student attending class.
We are here to answer any questions you may have and to help you with your application. Please contact us via the convenient form button below or directly at (802) 456-7400 or at enrollment@ovws.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
Orchard Valley Waldorf School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), ancestry, national origin, place of birth, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, political affiliation, or marital status in the operation of its programs or in its admissions, hiring, or financial aid decisions.
“This is our first experience with Waldorf education, and we are overjoyed with the songs and stories that are brought into our home from Damon’s days at school. I never could have hoped for a more loving environment.”
Learning about Waldorf Education
Orchard Valley offers a comprehensive Waldorf education and works hard to uphold Waldorf ideals. There is the hope and expectation that parents at Orchard Valley will choose to educate themselves so they have a basic (or perhaps a deep) understanding of the main tenets of Waldorf education. For your child to achieve the most benefit from his/her education, it is important that parents be in agreement with and supportive of the school’s philosophy and the work teachers are doing in school each day.
Please visit our Why Waldorf page for more information about Waldorf education.
Children with Special Needs
OVWS is happy to meet with families to assess whether we are able to meet the needs of any child with special needs. OVWS is committed to meeting each child’s social, emotional and intellectual needs, but there may be times when our scope of remedial and support services is not adequate to meet the needs of a child while balancing the needs of the class.
