Application and Enrollment Process

Thank you for thinking of Hilltop for your child’s educational journey! 

Hilltop Montessori School is a small, progressive, authentic Montessori school. Parent/guardian partnership, participation, and understanding of what we do (and why we do it!) is vital to the success of each of our students. We value each member of our community, and want to start off our relationship with each applicant and applicant family in a place of mutual understanding. Our admissions process is designed with the goal of setting up each individual student for success at Hilltop through learning and community. 

If you have any questions about the Admissions Process, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], and I would be more than happy to answer your questions. 

I look forward to partnering with you, and helping to begin your child’s educational journey with Hilltop! 

-Zoe Proctor, Director of Admissions & Enrollment

step one

Learn more about hilltop

Learn more about our school! 

Our mission is to inspire life-long learners, and it is critical that each family who joins Hilltop has a basic understanding of Montessori pedagogy and Hilltop programs. This first step is intended for adults only. Student visits are a separate part of the application process. There are three ways families can do this:

  • Join us for an Open House
    • Open Houses are a wonderful, in-depth chance to see Hilltop in action, speak with teachers and students, and meet fellow applicants. Each Open House is approximately 2 hours long. 

UPCOMING OPEN HOUSE DATES:

Toddler Program & Children’s House: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2025
Elementary & Middle School: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2025

9:30-11am

    • RSVP to an upcoming Open House here!
  • Join Zoe Proctor, Admissions Director, for a 1:1 tour
    • 1:1 tours are also a great way to learn more about Hilltop. In order to see the classrooms in action, sign up for a tour during our Morning Work Cycle, between 9-11am. 1:1 tours are approximately 1 hour long.
    • Sign up for a 1:1 tour here!
  • Schedule an online meeting with Zoe Proctor, Admissions Director 
    • If you are unable to come for a tour in person (if you are out of state, for example), we can find a time to “meet” online to discuss our programs and answer any questions you may have. Please note that in-person tours are preferable. Hilltop uses Google Meet. Online meetings are approximately 45 minutes long.
    • Sign up for an online meeting here!

If none of the options available work for you, or there are specific circumstances you would like to discuss, please reach out and Zoe would be happy to figure something out that works for you. You can reach her at [email protected]. We also invite you to explore our website.

step two

Submit an application

Once you have completed step one of the Admissions Process, families will receive a link to our online application via email. Please note that Hilltop will not request any information about the student’s actual or suspected disabilities, prior testing for or diagnosis of a physical, emotional, mental, or cognitive condition, or participation in or receipt of special education services as part of the application process. Hilltop will be reaching out to student’s current/former schools for student records and evaluations after acceptance to help determine what supports might be needed to set each student up for success.

Apply for an Index Tuition Level below 100%

If you are interested in applying for a school grant through our Index Tuition program, please do so in tandem with your school application. You can reach out to Zoe Proctor for the link to apply. Information about the Index Tuition program and state funding programs are available here.

Toddler Program and Children’s House Applicants

The first source of funding available for children under age 6 in Vermont is the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP). The financial resources that Hilltop has available to support families is finite, and we rely heavily on state funding to subsidize much of our programming. If state funding is available to families, we have to ask that you apply. This will allow us to have more school grant funding for families in school aged program levels, where this type of state funding is not available. To learn more about CCFAP, click here. 

step three

student visits (CH-MS)

Student Visits will be set up for students applying for Children’s House through Middle School after an application has been submitted. We will reach out to you to find a time that works for you and the classroom. Toddler Program applicants are not required to visit prior to enrollment. 

  • Students applying for Children’s House will spend approximately 20-30 minutes in the classroom while the rest of the students are not there. This could happen before school starts, or after the school day ends. This gives our young applicants the opportunity to explore the classroom, meet the teachers, and interact with materials without the hustle and bustle of other students. We ask that parents/guardians use this time to take a step back and observe, or chat with Zoe, and allow their child to engage independently with the teacher.
  • Students applying for Lower and Upper Elementary will spend half of a day in the classroom, from 8:30 – 12:30pm. Applicants will be paired with one or two classroom ambassadors who will be their buddy for the morning, including giving them a tour and showing them the ropes. Students will need to come with a snack, lunch, water bottle, and appropriate outdoor gear for whatever the weather may be. 
  • Students applying for the Middle School will spend one or two full days in the classroom. At this age, it is especially critical that students understand what they are signing up for just as much as the adults in their life do. Please let us know if there is a specific subject your student is particularly interested in, and we will try and schedule a day for them to visit when they might be able to participate in that class or activity. Whether or not a student comes for one or two visits is collectively up to the student, teachers, and family. Students will need to come with a snack, lunch, water bottle, and appropriate outdoor gear for whatever the weather may be. 
step four

Acceptance

Once your family has completed steps 1-3, applicants will officially be considered for acceptance. HMS makes first round acceptance decisions in mid-March, after which we operate on rolling admissions, which means that we continue to accept students until classrooms are full. Families will get an email of acceptance that will include your family’s Index Tuition amount. 

Families must respond to acceptances by April 1st . If HMS has not received any correspondence by April 1st, applicants will be removed from our applicant pool.

step five

Enrollment

After families have decided whether or not to accept Hilltop’s offer of acceptance, we will begin the enrollment process. First, we will reach out to your student’s current/former school for any academic records, and request copies and information about any academic or behavioral evaluations (including IEPs). Our team will then meet to review all information provided to determine if any additional support is needed for the student. If it is determined that additional support is needed outside of what HMS is reasonably able to provide within our capacity, and services are not being funded by a student’s district, families will be notified of additional charges required to obtain said support. 

Once all potential financial terms have been agreed upon, families will receive an email that includes instructions on how to create a FACTS Family Portal and complete our online Enrollment Packet

Families must complete enrollment within two weeks. If HMS has not received any correspondence within two weeks of an enrollment offer, HMS reserves the right to rescind the offer and remove the applicant from the applicant pool. 

Please see our full enrollment policies below.

enrollment policies

Nondiscrimination Policy

  1. Nondiscrimination Statement. No student shall be unlawfully excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity as the result of, or based upon, the student’s race, gender, color, creed, religion, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, or any other reason set forth in state or federal law. 
  2. Hilltop Montessori School (HMS) complies with all requirements of the Vermont Public Accommodations Act (9 V.S.A. Chapter 139), and with all requirements of the Vermont Fair Employment Practices Act (21 V.S.A. Chapter 5, Subchapter 6) in all aspects of its recruitment, application, enrollment, operation, and employment activities.
  3. HMS shall maintain and follow policies that implement this nondiscrimination statement. HMS shall distribute such policies to students and families of prospective students, enrolled students, and on request, members of the student’s IEP team. 

Procedures for Offering Enrollment

  1. HMS manages grade level and program capacity limits based on estimates of returning students, anticipated staffing, as well as facility and program requirements and constraints. Before extending an offer to enroll, HMS will first determine if there is available capacity at the student’s grade level. 
  2. When the number of applicants exceeds available capacity, priority will first be given to applicants with family members who are currently enrolled or were previously enrolled at HMS, as well as students of faculty and staff, then to applicants/families whose educational values are most closely aligned with Hilltop’s mission and Montessori pedagogy, and finally to applicants in the order in which HMS received their applications during the current admissions cycle.
  3. Under no circumstances shall a student be denied acceptance for enrollment because they are eligible for special education services or undergoing the comprehensive evaluation process for special education.

Enrollment Process & Policy

  1. If the student is offered enrollment, HMS will send the parent or guardian an invitation to enroll the student, which will include a request for additional information about the student, including academic and disciplinary history, and information about actual or suspected disabilities and/or special education needs.
  2. Upon a student’s acceptance for enrollment, if the student requires accommodations or special education services and resides in a school district that does not operate a public school for the student’s grade level, the student shall be provisionally enrolled and the School will contact the student’s Local Education Authority (LEA) and request that a meeting be convened to determine how the student’s services shall be provided, pursuant to and consistent with Vermont State Board of Education Rule 2229.4. 
  3. The LEA shall be responsible for the administration of the individualized education program (IEP) of a publicly funded student enrolled at the School, and shall determine how the student will be provided a free and appropriate public education. Any required accommodations and services must be documented in a written agreement pursuant to Vermont State Board of Education Rule 2231, and shall be governed by the procedures in Rule 2229.4.
  4. Prior to enrollment, the student’s parent or guardian must enter into a written contract with HMS and shall accept financial responsibility for any tuition, fees, or other costs not paid by the student’s LEA or school district.
  5. Nothing in this policy shall restrict the School from creating and preserving a safe and healthy environment for the entire School community and its members. HMS may decline to enroll or may expel a student who is currently in a period of expulsion under 16 VSA §1163, or presents a threat to themselves or others, consistent with the School’s disciplinary policy. 

Do you still have questions? Check out our Admissions FAQ page!