Enrollment Process

1. The first step is to take a private tour of the whole school with a focus on the classroom the parent is interested in enrolling their child in. The tour is about 45 mins long. The tour is conducted by the Head of School, at the end of which parents are able to ask any questions regarding the Montessori philosophy in general or the school in particular. Tours are usually held at 3.30pm, Mondays - Thursdays. Tours can be scheduled via phone 262-363-2815 or by emailing Head of School Deepa Shreekumar - deepa@nciw.org

2. Next, we request the interested parent to observe in the classroom for a minimum of 45 mins, on a separate day. Questions about the classroom can be addressed to the teacher, who will respond via email within 24 hours of the observation.  Call for an appointment (262-363-2815) or send an email to deepa@nciw.org  

3. When the decision to apply is made, complete the application form and send it to the school with a non-refundable $50.00 application fee. Deadline: 5:00pm on April 1st prior to the school year. Applications received after that date will be considered after the first round of admissions decisions are made.

4. If you applied for a spot in the Elementary / Adolescent classroom, the teachers will help you schedule a school visit day for your child. We request that the child spend a full day in the classroom they are potentially going to be placed in.

5. Admission decisions are made by the administration and teaching staff. These decisions are based on an evaluation of the child’s school visit, school transcripts, and the needs of existing classes with regard to balance of age, sex, and ethnic diversity. Parents will be contacted regarding our admission decision by April 15th. If a position is offered to your child at this time, you will receive an acceptance letter and an enrollment contract. The contract and a non-refundable $500.00 tuition deposit will be due by May 15th. Upon receipt of the contract and tuition deposit, we will hold a place for your child in our program and you will be contractually obligated for the year’s tuition. (The school will forgive tuition after a withdrawal only if we are able to replace the student withdrawn with another child of the same age and sex from our waiting list.)

6. If a spot is not immediately available, you may wish to be placed in our waiting list. You will receive notification of waiting list status by April 15th. We occasionally experience drops through the summer and urge parents to remain in the waitlist. Children on the waiting list for the current year must reapply for acceptance the following year. Application fees need to be paid only once.

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Nature’s Classroom Student Placement Policy

Student Placement takes place after the school is in receipt of a signed contract with deposit from the family. In the event that there is more than one classroom for a Montessori level, many considerations are made for the placement of a student. Some of them are:

• Balancing age of children

• Balancing gender

• Sibling relationships

• Needs of the classroom environment

Placement discussions occur between the administration and faculty in early August. A letter welcoming the family to a specific classroom is customarily sent by the school and teacher along with the registration and beginning of school information packet. If, after this placement letter has gone out, the family decides to delay enrollment for any reason (toilet training, readiness, etc.), the placement is withdrawn, and the spot offered to the next child on the waiting list. When the family decides to re-enroll their child, the above considerations will be factored in again and the child placed accordingly. The School Administration appreciates and acknowledges the valuable inputs by a child’s family regarding placement but has the final say as to which they will be in.