Financial Assistance Policy

Financial assistance at FSAS is rooted in our values of authenticity, agency, and compassion. We recognize that families are making a significant financial investment to prioritize the kind of meaningful education FSAS offers your child. We aim to partner with each family in this journey: respecting your circumstances and working together to make a FSAS education possible.

Foothills is committed to an inclusive learning community and providing a quality education to families and students in a respectful, equitable and just manner.

FSAS continuously seeks to balance tuition and FA to serve our full community. Financial assistance is intended to serve as many families as is possible within the approved budget, while significantly offsetting any given family’s demonstrated need. 

At this time the school is able to offer up to 65% of a family’s demonstrated need, with awards generally in the range of 30% to 55% of tuition. Our average award is currently $9,915, and we seek to offer up to 20% of our families financial assistance.

Foothills uses data-informed, strategic processes to help align our FA awards with our enrollment priorities. These are detailed in the Policy below. 

Calculation of financial need is a complex determination that involves evaluation of a family’s finances, including income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. Each year, the School will establish a computation method for calculating financial assistance. As with most independent schools, FSAS uses an independent, outside vendor to collect financial data and calculate need. We currently use FACTS Grants & Aid Assessment for this service.

Families applying for FA must complete an application and provide detailed documentation of income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. All families are required to follow the same documentation and application procedures. As outlined in our Policy, divorced or separated families must report financial information for both parents within FACTS. If a divorce decree outlines specific guidelines for tuition, a copy of that decree will be requested and considered along with the financial assistance reporting.

Income
Includes: salary, dividends, interest, alimony, child support, student income, trust fund income, cash/gifts from relatives, housing Allowance (Military, Religious, Parsonage, etc.), other Nontaxable Income (e.g. Foster Care Allowance, Child Support, VA Benefits, Workers Compensation, etc.), and other income.

Expenses
Includes: both monthly and annual costs, such as: rent/mortgage, household expenses, auto/transportation, medical, child-care, education, insurance, taxes, alimony, child support, daycare core expenses, and other expenses.

Assets
Includes: current checking/savings account balances, investment real estate, business ownership, investments, retirement funds, trust fund assets, 529 plans, and other assets.

Liabilities
Includes: mortgage, equity loans, consumer debt, and other liabilities.

There is an opportunity to explain anticipated Change of Income within your application. 
 

Our independence is a defining element of our educational approach, and we are able to preserve this by running completely independent of state or federal funds. Tuition represents ~85-90% of our income each year. Charging tuition is our defining mechanism to having a solvent, independent, nonprofit institution. The Board of Trustees passes an annual budget, including a line item for FA funds for each school year.

While we seek to make a Foothills education accessible to any family, we recognize that without a mindful and strategic FA policy, we would not be able to continue to offer our exemplary and unique program. 

• The award is designed to cover up to 65% of the family’s demonstrated need. Tuition covers the cost of field trips, activities, EL-6th grade early morning care, 5-9th grade fall trips, and the K spring trip.
• Financial assistance covers a portion of the cost of spring trips in 1st-9th grades.
• Where financial assistance is awarded, summer camp is often also reduced, consistent with family needs.

EL-6th grade aftercare are additional costs not currently supported by the FA program.
 

One of Foothill’s core values is integrity. We believe that an environment of respect and trust is vital in our community and we have outlined some key elements of our financial assistance program here to ensure that we can be accountable in our approach and administration of the FA program over time.

In no case will a student who does not qualify be awarded assistance, nor will a student ever be awarded assistance in excess of the family’s need.

We feel it is also vital to clarify that consideration of FA is completely independent of our admissions process. We do not make admissions decisions based on a family's ability to pay full tuition or not.

Applicants for, and recipients of, FA are not held to special or separate standards or subject to other requirements beyond those applicable to every other student at the School. To be eligible for FA and to continue to receive assistance, students must demonstrate financial need and meet all of the requirements of continued enrollment.

Foothills does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, political ideology, marital or parental status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, or any other status protected by local, state, or federal law.

ELIGIBILITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Eligibility for our FA program, and a calculation of your family’s need, is determined by FACTS Grants & Aid Assessment. What data FACTS collects and weighs is detailed in the Addendum of this Policy. The application process includes:

1. Submitting an application through FACTS: Start your application here.
2. Uploading supporting documents: Tax returns, W-2s of 1099s, and any other relevant financial statements
3. Sharing special circumstances (if any): You'll have an opportunity to include a personal statement to explain any unique financial situations.

Divorced or separated families must report financial information for both parents within FACTS. If a divorce decree outlines specific guidelines for tuition, a copy of that decree will be requested and considered along with the financial assistance reporting.

Because family-provided information pertinent to a financial assistance determination is of such a personal nature, it is imperative that FSAS adhere to the highest standards of confidentiality throughout the FA process. Foothills will ensure that access to individual family records will be limited to the Financial Assistance Committee. In general, records will be reviewed only by the Business Manager and—once names and other personally identifying information are removed—by the Financial Assistance Committee as a whole to determine awards. In the case of separated and/or divorced parents, the School will not disclose any information to either parent regarding the other parent’s finances.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE

The Financial Assistance Committee is the body charged with decision making regarding Financial Assistance awards. The Committee operates within the Board approved annual budget and is empowered to consult with the Finance Committee to seek additional funds as deemed appropriate. The Committee consists of the Head of School and the Business Manager. The Head of School has the discretion to appoint other committee members from the administrative staff or faculty.  

AWARD CONSIDERATIONS AND PROCESS 

In addition to FA being a critical tool in increasing our school’s accessibility, FA awards also help us meet Foothills' enrollment goals. Annual enrollment numbers are a foundational element in determining the approximate level of assistance available in each grade from PreK through 9th. This approach allows us to balance the number of awards and award dollars throughout the grades, while intentionally prioritizing any grades that are underenrolled.

At the individual award level, the FA budget is allocated, in order, to:

• Returning FA families: once we make a commitment to a family, we continue this commitment through their time at Foothills according to demonstrated need.
  • A transitional FA option is available to support families who qualified for FA in the previous year but are no longer eligible for it in the new enrollment year. Families can apply for FA in future years if their financial situation changes. Families must submit an appeal to be considered. If approved by the committee, the award will be 50% of the previous year’s assistance and will be granted for a one-year period. Families can apply for FA in subsequent years if their financial situation changes.
• Returning families with new financial need: supporting Foothills families so they can stay at Foothills regardless of changes to their financial circumstances.
  • The School encourages financial assistance applications from returning students who have not received financial assistance in the past due to circumstances such as:
    • Hardship, which is defined as a loss of job, medical, or other financial difficulties. Hardships are not always accurately captured in FACTS, so a hardship request via email may be added to your file. The school will ask you to provide the necessary supporting documentation along with your request.
    • The enrollment of additional siblings for a returning family is treated as a new financial need and is part of their needs assessment criteria–ie: families that find paying two or more tuitions challenging may qualify for need that was not available when one student was enrolled.
  • If the School is unable to meet the family’s request, it will place the student on the financial assistance waiting list.
• Newly enrolled/enrolling families: working to fulfill our commitment to make an FSAS education accessible to those new to our community.

Note that our Faculty and Staff are automatically awarded a significantly discounted tuition that is independent of FA. Faculty and Staff are welcomed to apply for additional FA as desired and their applications and awards are consistent with the processes described within this manual. Current or potential employees are encouraged to reach out to the Business Manager for further information.

APPLICATION TIMELINES, NOTIFICATIONS, AND APPEALS PROCESSES

Foothills accepts applications from prospective and new families throughout the year on a rolling basis. Returning families are encouraged to apply each January in advance of re-enrollment, and may make a new application if need arises outside that window.

Families can expect to be updated about their application review status approximately two weeks after submitting their completed financial information through FACTS Grants & Aid Assessment, our independent third-party service.

If any further information or clarity may be needed before a final decision is reached, our Business Manager will contact you. Once an application has been considered by the Committee, the decision and amount, if any, of an award will be conveyed by email to your family. The possible outcomes include: 

• an offer of an award, or
• notice that you are not currently eligible for an award

The notification timeline between the FACTS assessment and the determination by the Committee is generally one week, making the total application process approximately three weeks in total. Returning families applying in January can expect awards notification in advance of re-enrollment by early February.

Both the outcome and/or amount of an award are open to appeal. Families who wish to appeal their award must create a written document outlining why the FACTS assessment does not reflect the accurate financial picture of the applicant. The Financial Assistance Committee will review all appeals requests and determine if the additional context materially changes eligibility for an award or amount of FA. The amount of the remaining FA budget is also considered. You can expect a decision from the Committee by email within approximately 10 working days.

Once the offer of an award is extended, new families have seven days to accept or decline the offer. If you have neither accepted nor declined the award by the deadline, Foothills will withdraw the offer.  If, at a later date, you reconsider your application will be placed on a Waiting List for reconsideration.

Returning families who receive FA must also respond by the due date to confirm acceptance of the award. Those missing the deadline may have their assistance reallocated to another family or returned to the pool of financial assistance funds.

WAITING LIST

Any family who is placed on the admissions waiting list, and is eligible for FA, will also be placed on the FA waiting list. Applicants on that list will be considered as funds and spaces become available. Consideration will also be given to the current distribution of FA by grade level.
 

Statistical information regarding financial assistance applicants, award amounts, percentage of students receiving financial assistance, and other relevant data are collected and reviewed by the Financial Assistance Committee each year. These data and statistics are also presented to the Board. The goal of collecting these statistics is to review the level of need of the school community and evaluate the continuing ability of the institution to meet that need.

As policies and procedures change from time to time, this manual and policy will reflect those changes and provide guidance for the awarding of FA. Any revisions to this policy require Board approval.

The Board of Trustees approved the original version of this policy on May 19, 2026.

We are here to help! If you have any questions please reach out to our Business Director, Tina, at tmullins@foothillsschool.org.