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
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:
UPCOMING OPEN HOUSE DATES:
Toddler Program & Children’s House: Tuesday, October 8th, 2024, 9:30-11:30am
Elementary & Middle School: Wednesday, October 9th, 2024, 9:30-11:30am
If none of the options available work for you, or there are specific circumstances you would like to discuss, please reach out and I would be happy to figure something out that works for you. You can reach me at [email protected]. I also invite you to explore our website, and take a look at some past Parent Education workshops.
Once you have completed step one of the Admissions Process, I will reach out with a link to our online application. Please note that Hilltop will not be asking for, or requiring, any information about a student that would indicate a need for special education services, as gathering that information is not allowable in our 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 me 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.
Student Visits will be set up for students applying for Children’s House through Middle School after an application has been submitted. I 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.
Once your family has completed steps 1-3, applicants will officially be considered for acceptance. HMS makes first round acceptance decisions by March 15th, 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.
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 received 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.
Do you still have questions? Check out our Admissions FAQ page!