The Board sets aside a certain percentage of the school's budget (approximately 15%) annually for tuition assistance. Some of the set-aside will be replaced with funds raised through the Georgia GOAL Scholarship program. In addition, our school receives foundation funding that is restricted to our tuition assistance program.

Financial aid information is held strictly confidential and not shared with any member of the community outside of the Tuition Assistance Committee. In return, we expect all WSA families to maintain confidentiality about their award and award amount.

The Tuition Assistance Program supports students in Preschool through Grade 8, but students must be enrolled in a program 5 days/week to be eligible.

To be consistent and objective, WSA, like many independent schools, relies on an independent needs analysis of a family's ability to pay tuition. The Waldorf School of Atlanta processes tuition assistance applications through a platform called Clarity and will consider their recommendation to guide our award decisions.

Clarity makes initial estimates of the amount a family can contribute to their child's educational expenses based on several factors including household income and expenses, family size, number of children attending schools that charge tuition, assets (investments, home equity, automobile, etc.), and current debt (credit cards, mortgages, other loans, etc.).

The Tuition Assistance Committee, composed of administrative staff, will determine awards based on the data from Clarity and the family's assessment of what they can afford to pay. Because individual financial circumstances differ, the calculation of need will be unique to each family. Given the many variables affecting an award decision, it is impossible to accurately predict a family's financial aid award based solely on income. We don't give a family more than their requested amount.

We strongly encourage families to provide complete information and a narrative to substantiate any situations that would support their requested amount.

Important Note: Our tuition assistance funds are limited and intended to support families who genuinely need financial help to afford a Waldorf education. We ask that families explore all available resources, including support from extended family or friends, before applying for tuition assistance. This approach allows us to direct our funds to families with the greatest need and helps ensure the sustainability of our program for the entire community. We appreciate families who pay what they are able, as this enables us to support more students and strengthen our school.

Georgia Promise is a new state-funded voucher program, and we encourage all families who are applying for tuition assistance to also apply for a Georgia Promise Scholarship, which gives families $6,500 to apply toward their tuition. Students must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Student must be enrolled in a Georgia public school for the prior school year OR entering kindergarten

• Student must reside in the attendance zone of a public school included on the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) published list of eligible attendance zones

• Parent has resided in Georgia for 1+ year

Please visit the Georgia Promise website for more information and to complete an application. Families who qualify for and receive Georgia Promise must include these funds in their tuition assistance application. 

Tuition assistance awards for current families will be included in their re-enrollment agreements sent out in mid-February. Notification of tuition assistance awards for prospective applicants are included in decision letters emailed in mid-March. 

In the case of divorced, separated or unmarried parents, WSA requires that the households of both parents file an application for Tuition Assistance to provide a complete picture of the family's resources. Tax returns and legal agreements pertaining to child support or alimony are required from all parents, including current spouses (stepparents), who are financially responsible for the child and part of the new family unit. It is the combined resources of the family unit that will be considered in arriving at a financial aid award decision, though each family's financial information and resources will be evaluated separately and will not be shared between the parents. Lack of information from either family may prevent the family from receiving tuition assistance.

In cases where a natural parent has had no contact with the student over a period of years and does not provide financial support to the student, the requirement that both parents file may be waived. In this case, we require custodial paperwork indicating that full custody rights are assigned to the single parent and that child support is waived. We are also clear that, if a family indicates there is only one custodial parent involved, then only that parent will have access to school records, teacher communication, and be responsible for billing.

The responsibility for all communications and payment ultimately lies with the custodial parent and/or signers of the enrollment agreement.

We are aware that circumstances differ among divorced families, and we encourage families to contact the school to discuss the specifics of your circumstances should this present a hardship.