Foothills School is currently accepting applications for 2008-09 and 2009-10. Prospective families who have completed the application process by February 28, 2009, will have first priority for openings for next school year. Open enrollment for kindergarten-8th grade will begin April 1, 2009, and the school will continue to fill openings until all classes are full.

The Director of Admissions and Student Life, Katy Young, can answer questions about the application process for your family. Foothills School of Arts and Sciences’ Admissions Committee asks that all families applying to Foothills complete the following steps in the application process:

1. Read Our Website
   Please read our website and pay special attention to the mission and goals, philosophy, grade your child will be applying to, and admission process.
2. Schedule a Tour
   After reading the website, please call the school (208-331-9260) to schedule a tour with the Director of Admissions. Tours are for parents and usually last about an hour. We ask that both parents/guardians attend the tour. You will receive an application for your child at the end of the tour or you can download an application and coursework (4th - 9th) matrix from the website.
3. Submit Your Application with a $50 Application Fee
   Once it's complete, we ask that you return your child’s application and coursework matrix (4th - 9th) with a $50 non-refundable application fee to the Director of Admissions. If you are applying for multiple children for the same year, then the fee is only $50 per family.
4. Have Teacher Complete the Observation Form
   If your child is applying to 1st-9th Grade, please ask your child’s current teacher to fill out the Teacher Observation Form, which you’ll find inside the Propsectus packet. Once we receive your child’s application and the Teacher Observation Form, the school will contact your child’s previous school to request his/her transcripts.
5. Ask Us How to Apply for Financial Aid
   If you plan to apply for financial aid, the Director of Admissions can give you the necessary paperwork to complete. Families who want to apply for financial aid should submit their financial aid application to School and Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS) before February 20, 2009, for the 2009-10 school year. The school requests copies of families’ 2007 IRS 1040 form and 2008 tax return. Based on the SSS form that families complete, SSS does an analysis of a family’s ability to contribute to tuition and makes recommendations for financial aid awards. Based on these recommendations and the money available for financial aid awards, the Foothills School Financial Aid Committee makes financial aid decisions and notifies families. The Head of School and Director of Admissions oversee the Financial Aid Committee and can answer specific questions related to financial aid.
6. Attend Open House (recommended)
   Both current and prospective parents are encouraged to attend our Open House in January. The school will showcase student work and learning as well as our teaching approaches. Teachers will talk with visitors and answer questions about the school.




BY INVITATION ONLY

7. Schedule Your Child’s Visit/Early Learner Observation Visit
   If invited by the Director of Admissions, parents schedule a student visit (K-9th graders) or complete an Early Learner (EL) observation visit. Prospective EL parents schedule a morning visit in the EL classroom to observe, usually from 8:45-10. Prospective K-1 students spend half a day with us from 8:30-11:30, 2nd-9th graders spend one day from 8:15-3:15.
8. Submit Your Child’s Contract and Payment
   If admitted to the school, the Director of Admissions will send your family an acceptance letter, contract and tuition information, and we ask that you submit the contract and payment within a specified time, usually 7-10 days. A child becomes an official Foothills student when the family’s enrollment contract and required program fees are submitted.




How Admission Decisions are Made

Through the admission of new families, Foothills School of Arts and Sciences strives to build upon a family community and student body that is well matched to the school mission, goals, philosophy and educational program. When making admissions decisions, the Admissions Committee takes into account our interactions with families, information from a student’s application, a student’s transcripts (1st-9th), observations from their previous teacher (1st-9th), and our teachers’ observations from the student visit. Decisions are often based on class availability as well as on trying to balance the gender and ages of our classes.

Before admitting a student, the Admissions Committee wants to be confident that the school can meet a child’s specific learning needs. When students have special learning needs, the Education Director becomes a part of the admission process to determine if specific arrangements need to be made between the school and family. Before the Admissions Committee makes a decision, the family and school must agree that we can partner to make sure that, if needed, an Educational Partnership Plan (EPP) can be created, implemented and updated as necessary.

What We Ask of Parents

The Director of Admissions and Admissions Committee strive to be clear, consistent, kind and helpful during the application process.

It is our goal that the school gives prospective parents the information they need during the application process to determine if Foothills is the right place for their family. We seek to admit families who value the benefits of an independent education and who have a clear sense of what they are looking for in a school. Parents who embrace the school’s mission and are dedicated to life-long learning fit best with our community.

The school wants parents to be active participants in the life of the school. We value a diversity of perspectives and ideas; we believe that it makes us stronger as a school. Parents’ talents, interests and professional backgrounds add to the diversity of our community, and are all considered by the Admissions Committee.

We believe that it is the responsibility of parents applying to Foothills to complete the application process in a thorough, honest, thoughtful and timely manner. It is our hope that parents are willing and able to partner with the school and provide all necessary documentation and support as needed.

Please know that we often do not have enough spaces for all of the families we would like to become a part of our School. We ask that parents understand that we cannot expand our classes and accomodate all of these students, but we will work with the families until we do have room.

What We Ask of Students

We want children to be comfortable, challenged and successful at Foothills. It is important to us that students feel welcome and safe in the school community and can make connections with other students and teachers. By invitation, we invite prospective students to spend time in our classrooms to see how the school “feels” to them. Students who are motivated to learn and thrive in an integrated, inquiry-based learning environment with open-ended questions are likely to be successful here.

We expose students to multiple ways of thinking, learning and understanding, and want students to use their own gifts and talents to enhance their education. When students visit, we ask teachers to record observations about a student’s level of engagement, motivation, independence and ability to think critically. The visit also gives the Admissions Committee a chance to gauge the student’s level of independence and comfort, and determine whether it seems like a good fit for the student and the School. It is our hope that student visitors will actively participate in class activities while they are here.



Other Factors that the Admissions Committee Considers

Admission decisions always depend upon availability of openings in a class. When we have openings, students are selected from the applicant pool to fill openings based on comparative strength of the applicants and their families, not solely on the amount of time they’ve been in the pool.

When making decisions, the school offers priority to siblings in the admission process. However, we want each family to consider the educational needs of each of their children when they apply and go through the application process. It is important to make sure that their children can be successful in our program. We also seek to admit families who indicate that they want to be at Foothills for many years.

In an effort to protect all parties involved, the basis for all individual decisions is considered confidential and will not be discussed with applicants or their families.

Foothills School of Arts and Sciences does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, gender, sexual, orientation, disability or other classifications protected by law in all of its operations.




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