Sliding Scale Tuition
At Montessori Earth School we believe that every student deserves the same educational opportunities regardless of their financial situation. For this reason, we offer five levels of tuition and flexible payment options.
No added fees
Without any added fees, every student at Earth School will:
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Attend up to 42 weeks of school each year*
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Attend all regular program hours (including what many schools consider “before” and “after” hours supervision)*
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Be provided with ample healthy, vegetarian snacks throughout the day
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Be provided with all supplies needed for regular school activities and projects (including one-to-one use of a laptop computer)
*see school attendance section of the handbook for our flexible year-round schedules and how part of your yearly tuition will go towards the cost of your student’s senior trip
Tuition Levels
Families pay at the tuition level that best fits their budget. For families who are interested in submitting a tuition reduction application, we provide four levels of reduced tuition. Families whose gross annual income is less than 500% of the Federal Low Income HUD rate are guaranteed to receive some amount of reduction, and families whose gross annual income is less than 200% of the Federal Low Income HUD rate may not have to pay any out-of-pocket tuition after receipt of the EdChoice scholarship. (see below)
EdChoice
Montessori Earth School is in the process of becoming an Ohio non-public charter school. This is a private school which qualifies for families to use EdChoice and EdChoice Expansion scholarships to meet some or all of their tuition needs. The current EdChoice scholarship for high school students is $8,408, and most families in the Columbus area qualify for this scholarship.
If students are assigned to the following high school buildings, they most likely will qualify for the Traditional EdChoice scholarship.
Beechcroft, Briggs, Columbus Africentric, Columbus International, Columbus Scioto, East, Eastmoor, Fort Hayes, Independence, Linden-McKinley STEM, Marion-Franklin, Mifflin, Northland, South, Walnut Ridge, West, and Whetstone
However, families who live in other districts can still qualify for the EdChoice Expansion scholarship based on family income.
Our Earth School sliding tuition levels (A-E) and expected out-of-pocket annual tuition after EdChoice is applied are shown in the document here:
Tuition Reimbursement Plan
Many private schools rely on parent volunteer work to meet many of their needs, especially small schools like ours. Instead of requiring volunteer hours, we prefer to offer tuition reimbursement for parents who help out with services we need. In order to provide flexibility for families in paying tuition, all families are welcome to participate in work towards maintenance of the school program. This work will entitle you to a tuition reimbursement at a rate of $40/hour for up to 100 hours per year. With prior agreement with the school, services such as cleaning, landscaping, basic building maintenance, office work, substituting, teaching an elective, planning a school event, etc. may be used in this way. Some work may require special skills, prior experience and/or a background check. Arrangements can be made with Teacher Leaders at the start of each school year with additional opportunities added throughout the year as they emerge.