Montessori School Tuition and Fees

Forest Bluff Montessori School Tuition Policy

For more information about Forest Bluff Montessori School tuition, see the table below. Payment of the tuition deposit confirms your intention to enroll your child at Forest Bluff School for the 2023-2024 school year. If your child enters Forest Bluff School mid-year, the tuition is pro-rated accordingly, and payment of full tuition is due before your child’s first day of school.

September 2023 – May 2024

PROGRAMS

APPROXIMATE AGES

HOURS

TUITION

Young Children's Community

18 months - 3 years

8:30 – 11:30

$9,825

Primary Level

3 & 4 years
51 - 6 years

8:30 – 11:30
8:30 – 3:20

$9,825
$12,100

Lower Elementary

6 - 92 years

8:30 – 3:30

$13,375

Upper Elementary

9 - 12 years

8:30 – 3:30

$14,175

Secondary Level

12 - 14 years

8:30 – 3:30

$19,500

PAYMENTS DUE

Due February 10, 2023 non-refundable deposit  $1,000
Due February 10, 2023 non-refundable deposit for second year Secondary Students only $2,000
Due April 7, 2023 non-refundable deposit for first year Secondary Students only3  $2,000
Due June 23, 2023 Full Tuition Payment (balance)4 Please see above rate schedule
Drama Workshop Fee (for Elementary Levels only) $485
Books and Materials Fee (for Secondary Level students only) $400
For new families only:   
Refundable Educational Certificate5 due before your child's first day of school $2,000

1 Tuition is pro-rated to the Extended Day Level amount from the child’s 5th birthday to the end of that school year.
2 Tuition is pro-rated to the Upper Elementary Level amount from the child’s 9th birthday to the end of that school year.
3 Please note that first year Secondary Level students will be billed later in the Spring.
4 As part of our effort to keep our tuition costs lower than comparable schools, we request that annual tuition for the upcoming
   academic year be paid in full by June 23. The cost of tuition is the only expense that Forest Bluff Families should anticipate
   paying, as we do not conduct the annual fundraising campaigns typical of many independent schools. 
5 Each new family purchases one $2000 Educational Certificate, redeemable at the time of their youngest child’s graduation
   from the Secondary Level (age 14) or an elementary school elsewhere (age 12). The Educational Certificate allows us to keep our
   tuition costs lower than comparable schools. 

I’ve often tried to deconstruct the “secret sauce” at Forest Bluff, and I’ve boiled it down to four ingredients that conveniently start with the letter “C”: Compassion, Collaboration, Curiosity and Confidence. The kindness and awareness in the Forest Bluff classroom is perhaps the most powerful influence of all. The collaborative learning process includes teaching and learning among the students and across ages. This provides a much more robust and permanent learning process than traditional lecture/test methods. The students are encouraged to indulge their individual curiosities, allowing them to engage their learning process in a very deliberate, impactful way. Lastly, the confidence with which Forest Bluff students approach their education, their peers, and the world around them is truly inspiring. It’s very clear something special is happening at Forest Bluff.

When Paula Lillard greeted us at Forest Bluff years ago, it didn’t take long before her passion for her school and commitment to its success were revealed. We slowly walked from classroom to classroom, and she spoke of Montessori principles and explained what children were doing for close to two hours, much longer than we had expected.

I left that day impressed by her dedication but still unsure if it was the school for us. All it took was a visit to a different school – and the chaos apparent there – to persuade us that our kids would be in good hands at Forest Bluff School.