Admissions FAQs

A: 

• Toddler, Early Childhood & Elementary: 8:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. 
• Early Childhood (half day): 8:45 - 11:45 a.m. (students depart prior to lunch).
• Middle & High School: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. 

A: 

Before & after-school care, referred to as Club House at WMS, is provided at both campuses as a service for our families. Club House is available to currently enrolled students on regular school days. Club House includes indoor and outdoor play fro younger children and study hall time for older children. Club House is an additional fee and is not included in tuition. View our Before & After-School Care page for more information.

• On No School days (Faculty In-Service) or school breaks (Winter Break, Mid-Winter Break, Spring Break) throughout the school year, day camps are available with pre-paid reservation for enrolled Toddler, Early Childhood and Elementary students - exceptions may apply and will be communicated to our families. 
• WMS does not operate camps on holidays (days marked as School Closed on our calendar).

A: Tuition varies by program level. See our Tuition, Fees & Assistance page for 2024-2025 school year information. The WMS Board of Trustees announces the annual tuition each January.

Tuition Assistance (TA) is available each year. Prospective families must submit an admissions application and a tuition assistance application at the same time to be considered for tuition assistance. See our Tuition, Fees & Assistance page for more information. 

A: 

Our Bothell Campus hosts our Toddler (18-36 months), Early Childhood (3-6 years; Preschool & Kindergarten), Elementary (grades 1-6), Middle (grades 7-8) and High School (grades 9-12) programs. Our Toddler program is only available at our Bothell Campus. 

Our Woodinville Campus hosts four additional Early Childhood (3-6 years; Preschool & Kindergarten) classrooms.  

A: 

Touring is the best way to learn more about our Montessori programs and is a required step of the application process. Families may also choose to attend an Open House to fulfill this requirement. Applications will not be considered until you have completed this step. 

We encourage prospective families to register for a tour or Open House prior to submitting an application. Campus tours run weekly from October through January each year. An Open House event is held in November each year. Registration information can be found on the Tour WMS page.

A: 

Admissions information for the 2025-2026 school year is not yet available. 

For the upcoming 2024-2025 school year:

Applications for the 2024-2025 school year opened October 16, 2023, with a priority deadline of January 15, 2024. 

We encourage families to apply early in the admissions season in order to submit the application plus any needed supplemental documents, such as teacher evaluations, progress reports and test scores, by the priority deadline. Student visits, if applicable, are typically scheduled in the months of November through February, and families are notified when it is time to schedule their visit. 

All applications received by the priority application deadline of January 15, 2024, will receive an admissions decision on February 28, 2024. Applications received after January 15, 2024, may be eligible for the wait pool and subsequent rounds of admissions decisions depending on remaining spaces. 

A: 

No, due to multiple classroom balancing factors, we are not able to notify families of an admissions decision until the posted date.

A: 

Applications with the following statuses are given priority admissions consideration. Consideration does not mean a guarantee of admission. The same standards and criteria apply to all applicants, regardless of their admissions category, but applicants in any of the categories below will be considered for available spaces prior to other applicants.

• Applicants of current employees: employees are welcome to apply for admission for their child. WMS does not offer a tuition discount for employees.
• Sibling(s) of currently enrolled student(s): if the family withdraws their current student(s), sibling preference may be rescinded.  
• Montessori experience: applicants who have current or previous Montessori experience which follows closely to the AMS philosophy.
• Rollover applicants: families who applied within the previous school year and were placed in our wait pool are welcome to re-apply for the upcoming school year. A new application, application fee, submission of any applicable supplemental documents, and student visits requested by the admissions office must be completed. The Admissions Committee will have access to the previously submitted application as well.
• Sibling applicants: WMS makes an effort to enroll sibling applicants when possible. 

A: Admissions decisions are made during a review process by Admissions Committees comprised of our Head of School, Program Directors, faculty and our Admissions Director. WMS strives to maintain a balanced enrollment in our classrooms based on age/grade level, diversity and the following applicable considerations:

• Prior Montessori experience or knowledge/appreciation of Montessori philosophy
• Developmental readiness
• Social/emotional skills
• Academics and test scores
• Level of age-appropriate independence

Due to limited space, we are not able to offer admission to every applicant. See What is the admissions wait pool and how are applicants added? for more information. 

A: 

WMS has a wait pool rather than a waitlist for applicants who are deemed to be a good fit for our school but do not receive an admissions offer due to limited spaces. When a space becomes available in a classroom, we choose a candidate from our wait pool who best matches the criteria of the opening such as age and other balancing factors for the classroom. The family will be notified by phone and email if their student is selected. Families that remain in the wait pool without receiving an admissions offer are welcome to submit a new application for the following school year and will be evaluated in the same manner as a first-time applicant with the same requirements to complete all steps of the application process. The Admissions Committee will have access to the previously submitted application as well.

A: 

Wait pools may become full and applications may close based on the number of applicants waiting for a specific program level. If this happens, we recommend applying the following October when applications open for the next admissions season.

A: 

Families are expected and encouraged to get to know their student's teachers and support any classroom activities as requested. 

In addition, families play a vital role in the success of the WMS community. The Family Alliance (FA) supports the school and its programs by sponsoring social events, cultural celebrations, teacher and staff appreciation, an annual auction and gala, and more.

A: 

Similar to most independent schools, WMS does not receive any public funding. Therefore, we are dependent upon tuition, contributions and investment income to fund our annual operating budget. To learn more about how contributed income supports the school, please read our annual report. 

Each year during the Annual Giving Campaign, we ask every family to consider a gift at a level that is meaningful for them. In addition, the annual auction and gala each spring helps raise funds for specific needs as well as allow families to support classrooms and the school campus directly. 

The average yearly contribution is $800 per student. Each and every donation is appreciated and makes a visible and immediate difference. We are grateful to all our donors for their wonderful and thoughtful support!

A: 

Students bring their own lunch from home each day. 

Our Middle School student business class sells pizza on Fridays throughout the school year for 1st-12th grade students.

Morning and afternoon snacks are provided for Toddler and Early Childhood, and a morning snack is provided for Lower Elementary.

A: 

Toddler & Early Childhood:

WMS summer camp is offered for Toddler and Early Childhood students. Toddler and Early Childhood summer camp is only open to enrolled WMS students from the current school year. Registration opens in February each year. See our Camps page for more information.

Elementary:

We're excited to announce a new offering for our families! In summer 2025, we are partnering with Steve & Kate's Camp to host their programs at our Bothell Campus from June 23 to August 29, 2025.

Steve & Kate's Camp serves kids ages 4-12 and will replace our WMS Elementary summer camp program. We recommend that families with children in our Early Childhood program stay with our WMS programs for consistency, but the choice may vary depending on your child.

Steve & Kate's Camp aligns well with Montessori principles of self-direction, independence, care for the environment, and peer-to-peer learning. They offer innovative programming, including coding and robotics, breadmaking, sewing and knitting, and even making animated movies. Children from Montessori schools tend to love Steve & Kate's Camp because of the wide variety of activities offered and its "free range" structure of learning.

Another fantastic benefit of Steve & Kate's is that registration will not max out, even up until the day of camp. Parents can buy any number of Day Passes (or a Summer Pass if you plan on attending 30+ days) and use them whenever you want during the summer. Day Pass and Summer Pass fees cover the entire Steve & Kate’s experience, including lunch, snacks, activities and the entire day from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There is also tremendous flexibility for families: any days you buy and don't use will be refunded at the end of summer. Families that have applied for financial aid from WMS in the past can apply directly for need-based aid through Steve & Kate's Camp.

For more information about Steve & Kate's Camp, click here. Registration is open on a rolling basis and will remain so through the summer. WMS enrollment is not required for children to attend.

A: 

Contact WMS at admissions@woodinvillemontessori.org with further questions.