Admissions
Application & Admissions Process
We enroll students throughout the school year and applicants for the current year are welcomed!
Total time estimate for all of the following steps to enrollment is 2 – 4 weeks, depending on the availability of both your family and our faculty for interviews and school visits. We strive to accommodate your schedule and ensure a smooth process, aiming for a timely decision. Please do not hesitate to contact us with general questions.
How to Apply
1
Sign up for a tour or open house.
To learn more about our programs or to begin the admissions process, we encourage you to sign up for a tour or open house. If you have any questions, please contact our admissions office.
2
Submit application.
(fee currently waived)
Apply here. (You will be taken to TADS, the application system we use.)
Applications can be submitted any time. A confirmation will be sent within two business days. We use a web based system called TADS. A profile will need to be created for each child you need to enroll. We use TADS for:
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Applications
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Tuition & Fees
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Registration
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Financial Aid
3
Request teacher questionnaire
and transcripts.
If your child is currently attending another program, please have your current school complete the applicable forms from the list below and send them to Eastside Community School - instructions are on each form.
4
Complete family interview with faculty.
Once we receive your Application Form, Teacher Questionnaire, and Transcripts (if applicable), we will contact you for a family interview with faculty.
Interviews are typically scheduled within one week after the application and evaluation are submitted.
5
Schedule student visit
(grades only).
Following a successful Family Interview, eligible applicants to grades 2-8 will have an opportunity to schedule a visit (up to three days) and attend classes with their prospective teacher and peers.
Visits occur Monday through Wednesday, typically scheduled for the week following the interview.
6
Acceptance
Acceptance notifications will be emailed within one week of the family interview and/or visit. Confirm your admission by completing your Enrollment Agreement within two weeks of the date on your acceptance notification.
Tours
Campus tours when it's convenient for you - come see us in action!
We offer personal and group tours during the school day so you can witness the beauty of a Waldorf inspired education in motion. You'll have the opportunity to visit classrooms, observe students engaged in meaningful work and play, and ask questions about our approach and programs. Adults only. Our tours continue through the summer months.
Tours are small, personal, and led by a member of our admissions team. We want you to have an opportunity to ask any questions you have, as well as get a true sense of what daily life at ECS is like.
Have Questions? Form above not loading? Contact our friendly admissions office:
Open Houses and Events
We frequently schedule in person open houses and occasional virtual events. Unlike a traditional drop-in open house where guests can arrive at any time, ours follow a schedule of presentations designed as a guided experience that unfolds throughout the event. We encourage you to arrive at the beginning, so you have time to check in, enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, and settle in before our program begins.
We vary our times and days of the week when scheduling open houses to accommodate schedules, but if you don't see a time that works for you, or there is nothing currently scheduled, please get in touch. We will tell you when the next open house is coming, or schedule a personal tour for you.
Upcoming Open Houses are in the works, check back soon!
All School Virtual Information Session
November 6th, 2026
5:00 PM
Come explore our programs during our All-School Virtual Information session, and have your questions answered by members of the ECS community and faculty. Whether you're just starting to explore or already picturing your child here, we can't wait to connect and show you what ECS is all about.
Tuition and Fees
Eastside Community School tuition is inclusive — it covers supplies, field trips and similar school expenses. Families can anticipate annual tuition increases of 5-10%, which support faculty compensation, program enhancement and facility improvements.
Tuition is paid via your TADS account. We have three payment plans available:
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One single payment due in June
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Quarterly payments due in June, September, December, and March
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A 12-month plan with payments from June through May
2026 - 2027 Early Childhood Tuition
Tuition | Half Day | Full Day |
|---|---|---|
5 days | $18,627 | $25,416 |
4 days | $15,559 | $22,339 |
2026 - 2027 Elementary and Middle School Tuition
Program | Tuition |
|---|---|
Grades 1 - 8 | $28,262 |
After-School Care
Early Childhood Aftercare is offered from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday at a drop-in rate of $5.00 per 15 minutes or by signing up for a monthly plan ranging from $144 to $720 depending on the number of days per week.
Grade School Aftercare is offered from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday at a drop-in rate of $4.00 per 15 minutes or by signing up for a monthly plan ranging from $125 to $575 depending on the number of days per week.
Please note that there is no aftercare on early release days.
Fees
Fees | New & Returning Students | Financial Aid Applicant |
|---|---|---|
Deposit | $500 | $200 |
Enrollment | $750 | $500 |
Application | Waived | Waived |
Financial Aid
Eastside Community School (ECS) is committed to ensuring that students who can benefit from attending the school have access to education, regardless of their financial situation. ECS provides financial aid to students whose parents demonstrate financial need, within the limits of available funds. The financial aid process is designed to help alleviate financial barriers, allowing students to apply without concern for their ability to pay. This ensures that students from diverse financial backgrounds have the opportunity to attend ECS.
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New families should not submit their financial aid application until after they have been accepted to Eastside Community School. Financial aid applications are due within 2 weeks of submitting an enrollment agreement. Please indicate that you are requesting financial aid when submitting your enrollment agreement.
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Returning families should complete the financial aid application by the date communicated by the school during the re-enrollment period.
How to Apply for Financial Aid
ECS is proud to use the Clarity Application to determine a family’s level of financial need based on the information that families share in the application which includes assets, income, expenses, and debts.
To get started, please go to the Clarity Application and create an account.
Our goal is to make the financial aid application process as easy as possible for families. You will find that Clarity offers a streamlined and user-friendly financial aid application process that can take as few as twenty minutes to complete. It is mobile-friendly, so you can complete your application on your phone or tablet! Furthermore, your 1040 and W2 documents from the previous year will be automatically transferred from the IRS when you complete the verification step, so you will no longer need to upload those documents manually. You are also able to save your progress and return at any time.
At the end of the application, there is a $60 fee to submit, and you can share your application with additional schools that accept the Clarity Application for no additional charge. Simply use the dropdown menu in the application to select those schools.
Please remember to return to your dashboard after you complete and submit your Clarity Application, as ECS requires you to upload additional tax documentation including your current year W-2 or end of year paystubs and specific IRS forms for business owners.
Support and Reference Documents
Questions?
If you need support during the process of completing your application, there is in-app support available through the “Help” button in the bottom left of the screen, as well as email and phone support at support@clarityapp.com or 206-210-3752, in both English and Spanish. The application itself is also fully translated into Spanish.
Admissions Forms
To fill in forms on your computer, download the form first, then open using Adobe Acrobat Reader and fill in the required information.