Throughout the school year, Saint Louis Sudbury School enrolls students age 5 to 18 who meet the following criteria:
The school and the family believe that the student can thrive in Saint Louis Sudbury School’s program.
The student chooses to join the school community.
Throughout the admissions process, we will work with you to determine the good fit between your family and Saint Louis Sudbury School, as well as to provide your child or teen with the information they need to make their own decision about enrollment.
All enrollments begin with a 4-week Practice Period. We believe that many children can thrive in Saint Louis Sudbury School’s program if they choose to be here. Occasionally we find that we are unable to make an offer of admission, sometimes related to a history of serious behavioral or emotional patterns that may be difficult for our small community to absorb. If you’re wondering if your child might be a good fit, give us a call at 314.270.2488 or info@stlsudbury.org.
Our admissions process can be broken down into these steps:
Step 1. Learn about our school and the Sudbury Model
Read through our website and check out our recommended resources. Schedule an informational virtual meeting or phone call with a Sudbury representative (optional, but recommended).
Step 2. Schedule a Family Visit
After reading about Saint Louis Sudbury School, it’s time to come in for a visit (schedule here)! You’ll meet with a representative of the school, to answer your questions, help both you and the school determine the good fit for your family, and take a tour of our space. This is an opportunity for you and your child to learn more about Saint Louis Sudbury School, just as we’re getting to know you, so feel free to bring lots of questions!
Schedule online to make an appointment for your family to visit.
School visits take about an hour and are conducted during regular school hours during the school year, and with greater scheduling flexibility over the summer. If you’re considering fall enrollment and would like to see our school in action, schedule your visit by March or early April of the preceding school year.
We recommend that students learn about Saint Louis Sudbury School ahead of time.
If both your family and our school would like to move forward with the admissions process, you may be invited to submit an application and pay a $50 application fee.
Step 3. Schedule an Admissions Interview
After touring and submitting your application, the next step is to schedule an Admissions Interview. This meeting is an opportunity for the school and family to really get to know each other and determine if it will be a good fit for your family and answer questions. This meeting lasts approximately 1.5 hours. The first hour is a conversation with the parents and school staff. During this portion of the meeting, the prospective student can get to know some of the Sudbury students and observe a Restoration Committee problem solving session. The last 30 minutes of the interview is with parents/caregivers, the prospective student, and school staff to see if our community with its unique responsibilities and opportunities might be a good fit for the student and family.
Step 4. Schedule Applicant’s Visiting Days
We look forward to sharing our community with your child! During the two Visiting Days, prospective students can gain a better understanding of what life at Saint Louis Sudbury School looks like and how our community interacts and supports each other. Prospective students may spend their time getting to know peers, playing games, learning about the basic rules and procedures of our school, participating in workshops, and more.
Step 5. Enrollment & Registration Meeting
We will be in touch with you soon after the Visiting Days and invite you to enroll or we will tell you why we cannot offer admissions at this time. Before finalizing the enrollment, you may choose to submit a Tuition Assistance Application. You may submit your Tuition Assistance Application at any time before or after visiting the school. You’ll receive information about how much Tuition Assistance your family is eligible for within a week or so after filing.
At the meeting, you will go over some general onboarding, sign the enrollment contract, make your initial deposit (first month tuition and a non-refundable $300 Supply Fee), and review any documents. Custodial parents and all enrolling students from your family should attend the registration meeting, which usually takes about one hour.
What’s next?
Start coming to school! (On your agreed upon start date, of course.)
Each new student’s first four weeks is called their Practice Period, a time to settle in and make sure there’s a good fit among the student, the school community, and family. During the Practice Period, after two weeks and again after four weeks, we ask the parents and student to come in for a “check-in meeting.” During the check-ins, the school will give you feedback about how things are going, and we ask for your feedback, too. During the Practice Period, if you or the school find that the fit isn’t as good as we thought it would be, you or the school can end the enrollment. You will receive a refund of any tuition paid, minus the Practice Period Fee. The Practice Period Fee per student is prorated net tuition. Prorated net tuition is calculated as 2.75% of the annualized cost of net tuition, per week or partial week of the Practice Period. At the end of the 4-week Practice Period, if you or the school are not sure about the goodness of fit, we may extend the Practice Period for another two weeks and schedule another check-in meeting. After the Practice Period, the school asks you to make a commitment to continue the enrollment for the remainder of the school year.