At KapKa, we value diversity and non-discrimination. All admission decisions are made without regard to a child’s race, religion, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, family structure, or financial status. We believe that all children are gifted and we do not believe in testing as a way to measure a child’s potential.  As such, we do not use formal testing to inform admission decisions.

It is important for us to be able to fully meet the needs of each child that we accept into our school. Therefore, we only offer placement to children whose needs we believe we are fully able to support. Children must be five years old by August 31, 2010 in order to be considered for kindergarten placement.

We provide preferred placement for siblings of KapKa students and alums, as well as to the children of KapKa staff members. The remaining applicants are selected by random lottery with an attempt to balance for gender, with three spaces awarded at the registrar and teaching team’s discretion.

Application Protocols

The following steps should be completed in order to be considered for admission:

• Attend the open house on Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 2-4pm (if possible).
• Participate in a school tour and teacher meeting. Tour sign-ups will be available at open house or via the registrar.
• Submit completed application form and $50 application fee by Friday, February 26, 2010.
• If applying for financial aid, submit a completed scholarship application by Friday, March 5, 2010.

Once applications are received:

• Teachers, registrars, and Chair of Board meet to review current mix of educational needs at KapKa.
• Teachers and registrars review applications. Telephone references of all applicants.
• As needed, parents, teachers and registrars have follow-up conversations with regard to the fit of a child at the school.
• As needed, teachers follow up with a preschool/daycare observation.
• Teachers determine if there are any applying children whose needs they believe KapKa cannot properly meet. Registrars will telephone families to inform them that they will not be considered in lottery.

After reviewing the application pool and selecting alumni siblings and discretionary spaces, the lottery drawing shall proceed. These steps will be taken by an independent third party, with a registrar present:

• Determine available spots, based on gender balance.
• Pool applications by gender and randomly select children for admission.
• Continue to draw names to fill class and wait list by gender.
• Registrars contact families to inform them of their status by Friday, March 12, 2010.
• Admittance is confirmed upon receipt of $250 registration fee and first tuition payment on or before Friday, March 26, 2010. If payment is not received by this date, the space will be offered to waitlist families.

Typical parent responsibilities include:

• Attend a monthly parent meeting — Meetings are usually weeknights from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
  
  
• Work one half-day shift in the classroom each week. (8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. or 11:45 a.m.–3:15 p.m.).
  
  
• Perform a parent job — Time requirements for parent jobs vary. Some require 3-6 hours per month, while other can demand up to 3-6 hours on a weekly basis.  There are a variety of parent jobs available, such as garden coordinator, supplies purchaser, field trip coordinator, librarian, treasurer, community events organizer, site maintenance person and various board positions.
  
  
• Supervise/drive on field trips — KapKa students take frequent field trips, for educational and physical enrichment. We expect that each family will commit to driving for several of these trips over the course of the school year. .


• Participate in special projects — Several times during the year the students take on projects that require extra adult involvement. Such projects have included cooking Thanksgiving meals for those in need or helping with sewing projects. Each family can expect to work an extra shift on occasion to support these projects.


• Contribute to the maintenance of the school —Includes either performing or paying for a once a year school cleaning, one mid-week vacuuming, and one weekend-day work party.


• Contribute to fundraising efforts –Opportunities include helping with the annual fundraising party and participating in fundraising drives such as the jog-a-thon and Chinook book sales.

KapKa tuition is significantly lower than comparable independent schools and does not completely cover the cost of the education that we provide. Fundraising is critical to our ability to keep tuition low and is also an important avenue for us to further enrich our educational experience. Incoming families should expect to participate in fundraising efforts over the course of the year.  As a general guideline, families should expect to contribute at least the cost of one month’s tuition as part of annual fundraising.

The annual tuition for the 2009–10 school year was $6,950; this amount is expected to increase for 2010-11. The exact amount will be set in March 2010. Tuition is paid in 10 monthly payments with the first non-refundable payment due upon acceptance.

Limited financial aid is available; scholarship applications must be received no later than March 5, 2010.

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