AFFORDING BLUE OAK SCHOOL

As a parent, choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions you can make. If you’re like most parents, you are looking for a school that shares your values and offers individual attention, small class size, and excellent teachers and has high academic standards.

But perhaps even more importantly, you are searching for a school that is going to provide a high quality, well-rounded experience for your child – a school that offers opportunities not only in the core academic areas, but also in art, foreign language and performing arts – a school that helps instill good work habits and qualities of personal responsibility and good citizenship.

Blue Oak is committed to making our school accessible and affordable to families from a broad range of economic circumstances. While every family is expected to pay some portion of the tuition and to support the community to the extent that individual family circumstances permit, we do not expect tuition to be the same for everyone.

Blue Oak offers an Indexed Tuition program which enables families who need tuition assistance to receive an enrollment contract based on a family’s individual financial situation. For the 2023-2024 school year,  over 40% of the families who have enrolled their children in Blue Oak receive tuition assistance in the form of an Indexed Tuition contract.

Annual Tuition: Kindergarten to 5th Grade is $22,900
Annual Tuition: 6th Grade to 8th Grade is $28,400

Blue Oak’s tuition covers all expenses related to a student’s education. There are no additional charges for books and supplies, field trips, graduation expenses, transportation, participation in athletics or technology use.

Families who participate in the After-Care Program (ACP) or enroll in classes in the After School Classes are billed separately for these expenses. Limited financial assistance for these programs is available for families receiving an Indexed Tuition contract. Blue Oak also offers an optional hot lunch program for an additional charge.

Blue Oak families are asked to make annual donations to the Acorn Fund, Blue Oak School’s annual fund. These gifts help fund such areas as technology initiatives, library acquisitions, tuition assistance, and professional development. We ask that all families support this fundraising effort at a personally significant level; every gift is appreciated and meaningful.

As we are a 501c3 organization, unrestricted gifts are tax-deductible, and some employers may match their employee’s gifts. For more information about the Acorn Fund and its use in the school budget, please contact the Development Office.

A non-refundable tuition deposit is required of all families. This deposit is equal to 10% of a family’s tuition obligation and is required to complete a student’s enrollment. Tuition deposits must be made within three weeks of receiving a contract.

Tuition insurance (1.75% of the total tuition cost after deposit) is required unless tuition has been paid in one installment (May) or two installments (May and August). Families using the ten payment plan are required to enroll in Blue Oak’s Tuition Insurance program. Tuition insurance is billed in August.

Payment Plan A – Full pay (less deposit) due May. 

Payment Plan B – 50% of tuition (less deposit) due May and 50% due August.

Payment Plan C – 10 equal monthly payments (less deposit) beginning in April and ending in January. (Tuition Insurance is required for tuition charged, less the non refundable deposit.) The Tuition Refund Plan is optional for Payment Plans A and B.

Indexed Tuition

Indexed Tuition allows Blue Oak School to offer a range of tuitions to support the economic diversity that is such an important component of our school community. Indexed Tuition is strictly need-based and recognizes that each family’s financial situation is unique.

Like most independent schools, Blue Oak uses an outside service to evaluate a family’s ability to pay tuition. Blue Oak has partnered with TADS, a company that has spent more than 40 years working to helps schools evaluate each family’s ability to contribute to their child’s education. TAD provides both families and the School with a high level of confidentiality, expertise, impartiality and accuracy.

TADS provides Blue Oak with a detailed analysis of each individual family’s financial strength, taking into consideration income, assets, family size, unusual expenses and the enrollment of other children in tuition-charging schools. Using the TADS analysis as a starting point, Blue Oak also looks at whether a family owns real estate or has other significant investments, lifestyle choices (stay-at-home parent, discretionary spending on vacations, etc.) other possible sources of funding for tuition and the tuitions being paid by families in similar situations.

We look carefully at the financial choices that families make and trust that families understand the value of an independent school education and are committed to making education a top priority.

While Blue Oak believes the primary responsibility for educating a child falls to the parents, we also recognize that for some families, the cost of an independent school education may seem out of reach.

Blue Oak encourages families who have concerns about their ability to afford the full cost of a Blue Oak education to apply for Indexed Tuition. Each family’s financial situation is considered thoroughly and confidentially on an individual basis to insure attention to special circumstances.

Not all families who are eligible to receive an Indexed Tuition contract will be offered one. Priority consideration is given to current students and then to eligible new students. In any given year the number of students who are eligible exceeds the number of students who can be assisted through the school’s indexed tuition budget.

Step 1: Complete an application for admission

Complete the Blue Oak School Application for Admission and submit it along with the $75 application fee.

Step 2: Collect financial information

Collect all of the financial information you will need to support your application (2022 taxes, household expenses, credit card statements, etc.) and complete the TADS worksheet.

Step 3: Log on to the TADS website

  • Go to the TADS WebSite
  • Select “Apply for Financial Aid”
  • Select Blue Oak School
  • Submit your TADS application

Step 4: Submit financial information to TADS

Submit all required financial information as requested by TADS.

Indexed Tuition Timeline

Families applying for admission between September and January

  • Applications for admission for the 2024-2025 school year may be submitted beginning October 2, 2023
  • Schedule a time to visit Blue Oak: choose from group tours / open house / individual visits
  • Submit an Application for Admission–applications due by January 31, 2024
  • Submit and complete the TADS application no later than January 31, 2024 with all supporting documentation fue no later than February 7, 2024

Families applying for admission between March and June

  • Families who begin the admissions process later in the year should submit all of their application materials as quickly as possible. Admissions decisions are made on a rolling basis beginning in Mid-March or April
  • Schedule a time to visit Blue Oak: Choose from Group Tours / Open House / Individual visits
  • Attend an Indexed Tuition informational meeting or schedule a personal meeting with the Director of Admissions
  • Complete the TADS worksheet
  • Submit an Application for Admission
  • Submit and complete the TADS application at the time you submit an application for admission

Families applying for admission during the Summer

Families applying for admission in the summer months should understand that there are usually no funds available to offer Indexed Tuition contracts. Please contact the admissions office directly to determine if you should complete a TADS application as part of the admissions process.

Need Assistance or Have Questions?

For Assistance or any questions, please email Meredith Wilson, Director of Admissions or call 707.261.4522.