The Sharon Academy

Dear Prospective Student and Parents/Guardians,

Thank you for your interest in The Sharon Academy. We look forward to meeting with you and encourage you to plan a day to visit.

The Sharon Academy prides itself on being an innovative, academically challenging school that offers the best of both private and public school education. We offer a stimulating, intimate school environment where students learn to use their minds through expectation and trust. These strengths have made our school a magnet for families seeking a school setting that has high expectations for its students and for parental involvement in the school community.

We are an approved independent school.  This means that, although we are a private school, our tuition fees are paid by those Vermont towns that normally tuition students out to area schools.  Tuition fees for 2008 - 2009 are $10,921 for the middle school and high school.  TSA offers limited financial assistance to qualified applicants.  In addition to tuition, we also charge for field trips, some special supplies and extra curricular activities.  We estimate additional expenses to be $300 - $400 a year, depending on student activities and elective choices, in addition to our annual registration fee of $100.

Our class size of 12-17 students supports the emphasis we place on high academic standards and individual learning styles. Students follow an academically challenging curriculum including language, literature, arts, science, math, technology, social sciences, foreign language, physical education and health.

Please carefully review the following pages regarding our admissions procedure and feel free to call with any questions.

Sincerely,
Michael B. Livingston
Head of School

Admissions

We are delighted to learn of your interest in The Sharon Academy! We hope the following explanation helps clarify our admissions process. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Application Procedure

1) Visit TSA for a day.

2) Complete TSA's application forms and include:

• a copy of current report cards
• writing samples: copies of a few recent school assignments
• teacher recommendations, to be mailed directly to TSA
• a student essay
• a parent description of student
• signed permission to speak to student's school
• a recent photo of the student
• a nonrefundable application fee of $25.  If accepted, there is a $75 Intent to Attend fee. Please let us know if this is a hardship, as it is not our intent that this fee precludes any child from applying.

3) An interview with an Admissions Officer, after a student's entire application packet has been received at TSA. Deadlines: For the High School, the entire process, including an interview, will need to be completed by Feb. 28th. For the Middle School, applications should be received by February 28th, and interviews completed by April 6th.

The Visit

All interested students are asked to visit TSA for an entire school day. A TSA student volunteer serves as a host for a visiting student. We plan a visitor's schedule based on the student's grade and projected educational needs. When possible, we meet with visiting students during the day to answer questions and again at the end of the day to review the admissions process. Interested students and parents should request our application form. We encourage families to have a frank conversation about their desire to apply for enrollment at TSA. Families wishing to pursue the admissions process then complete our application.

Acceptance

• Acceptance decisions are at the sole discretion of The Sharon Academy.
• TSA does not use a rolling admission policy for our initial applicant pool.
• TSA will announce its decision for the High School by March 14th, and for the Middle School by April 28th. Students will be either accepted, wait listed (in the case of a full class) or declined.

Wait list

• TSA will create a pool of applicants from our waiting list and from new applicants for classes that are full.
• Wait listed students will not be given priority based upon when they were placed on the list.

Late Applications

• TSA will use a rolling admissions policy for vacancies where space remains available, after March 15th at the High School and April 29th at the Middle School.

Returning Students

All returning TSA students must advise TSA of their intent to return no later than February 1st by submitting a non-refundable $100 intent to return fee. Students opting not to return, who later change their mind, must follow the admissions process.

Students Matriculating From the Middle School

TSA middle school students matriculating at the high school must receive an acceptable recommendation from the middle school staff by February 1st of their eighth grade year.

Siblings of Current Students and Children of Staff

Siblings of current students and children of staff are required to follow the TSA admission process. Eligible siblings of current students and children of staff will receive priority when all other considerations remain equal.

Admissions Committee

The TSA Admissions Committee is made up of the Head of School, the Assistant Head of School and the Head of the Middle School.

The Sharon Academy welcomes any student regardless of socio-economic, racial, ethic, religious or cultural origin. The Academy is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization.