Tuition Assistance

Many parents wish to give their children a progressive education that nurtures and promotes their holistic development. However, the additional cost of tuition to the basic family budget can be challenging for some. At The Garden School, we strongly believe that finances should not prevent the enrollment of a child whose family is otherwise a good fit for our community. Through Tuition Assistance, we provide inclusion opportunities for families whose financial circumstances do not allow for the full payment of annual tuition.

The Garden School offers tuition assistance to qualified families in the Kindergarten and Grades programs. Our program is administered in so that tuition is indexed to a level based on a family’s ability to pay. This allows us to make progressive, nature-immersive education affordable for many more families. The Garden School uses an independent financial consultant, TADS, in order to provide the applicant with confidentiality and third party objectivity. Indexed tuition may be obtained through TADS during the regular registration period.  The TADS application must be completed in its entirety, along with the processing fee as required by TADS. The Garden School does not receive your personal financial information. The family applying for tuition assistance must first complete an application to The Garden School of Marietta.

Program Guidelines

  1. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to request tuition assistance information.

  2. Submit an application to The Garden School of Marietta for the 2024-2025 school year for either the Forest Kindergarten or the Grades program.

  3. Submit a Financial Aid application. For new families, this must be completed in its entirety through TADS (The Garden School’s third party administrator), along with the processing fee as required by TADS by February 28, 2024.

  4. Tuition Assistance will be awarded by The Garden School based on recommendations from TADS, and on student and family history. The school does not receive your completed application, only the recommendations made by the independent consultant.

  5. The parent or guardian will be notified by the school regarding the level of tuition payable by the family on March 30, 2024.

  6. Each year a parent or guardian would need to re-apply for the next school year to assess their tuition assistance for that year. 

In addition to applying for tuition assistance, we expect families to explore other possibilities for funding their child’s education, including contributions from relatives and employment and lifestyle adjustments. Tuition assistance grants are capped at 50% of tuition. Because of the 50% limit, it is important that our financial aid applicants are prepared to sustain enrollment year to year within the parameters of our tuition assistance grants.  Please note that tuition assistance is not available for the Joyful Beginnings program.