How to Apply

List of 5 items.

• Step 1: Visit Us

  For families with children applying to Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, the required parent visit includes meetings with the Head of School and the Admission Director, as well as a tour of Tenacre. Pre-Kindergarten applicants must be age 4, and Kindergarten applicants must be age 5 at the start of the school year to which they apply.
  
  Families whose children are applying to Grades 1 - 6 meet with the Head of School and the Admission Director and have a tour of the school when they visit. Applicants for Grades 1-6 attend the  Admissions Day on February 1, 2020 (snow date February 8).
  
  Admission appointments for parents applying to all grades are scheduled for 9 am or 10:30 am Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, beginning in early October through late January. You should expect to spend about one hour on campus. Every effort will be made to accommodate the schedules of families visiting Tenacre from out-of-state or from abroad. To schedule your visit, please call or email Elizabeth O'Connell (781-431-8575, x204) in our Admission Office.

• Step 2: Begin the Online Application

  Once you begin the application, we will call you to schedule your tour and visit.  You need not complete the entire application at once. Part I of the application must be completed by your parent interview and tour. Part II of the application must be completed by February 7, 2020. The $60 non-refundable application fee is also due by February 7, 2020. 
  
  When you are logged into your online application account, please follow instructions to have the AISNE recommendation form sent directly to your child(ren) teacher. It is recommended that you initiate sending the AISNE form by December to give your child (ren) teacher enough time to complete the form by the due date of February 7, 2020. 
  

   

  All application requirements (Part I and Part II of the online application, AISNE evaluation form, parent visit and interview, Progress Reports, child visit (s) and $60 application fee) and Financial Aid Application, if applicable, must be completed by February 7, 2020.
  
  Applications received after February 7, 2020 will be considered as space allows.  Please call the Admissions Office.

• Step 3: Student Visit Days

  Information for Applicants to Pre-K and Kindergarten
  

  Upon receipt of an application and fee, the Admission Office will call you to schedule your child's visits. These include a half-hour individual session with our Learning Consultant, and a playgroup visit in either January or February. Individual visits are scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, starting in late November. Group visits are on either January 7, or 8 or February 5, at 12:45 - 1:45 PM for Pre-K applicants, and 2 - 3 PM for Kindergarten applicants.
  
  Pre-Kindergarten applicants must have reached the age of 4, and Kindergarten applicants must be 5 by the start of the school year in which they will enroll. A child applying for either Pre-K or K must have had a prior formal school experience which is the equivalent of at least 2 days/week for Pre-K applicants, and 3 days/week for Kindergarten. Children applying to both PK and K must be toilet trained.

  
  

  Information for Applicants in Grades 1 - 6
  

  Students applying to Grades 1 - 6 visit on Saturday, February 1, 2020 from 9:00 - 11:45 a.m. (snow date Feb. 8) for a group screening morning. The morning will include assessment in reading, writing and mathematics, as well as classrooms activities with homeroom teachers, a special subject class such as Science or Technology and games in the gym with our P.E. staff.

• Step 4: Financial Aid

   

  Tenacre is committed to assisting families of qualified applicants achieve their goal of an independent school education for their child, whatever their financial situation.
  
  You may begin to fill out your Financial Aid application (PFS) online, beginning October 2. You only need to fill out one PFS, which will cover all the schools you may be applying to. Please visit our Financial Aid page for more information.
  
  Financial Aid applications and all required documents (copies of W-2 forms and completed 1040 tax forms) are due at both Tenacre and SSS by February 7, 2020.

• Step 5: Final Checklist

  The application deadline for the 2020-21 year is February 7, 2020.
  
  
  For all applicants, please make sure we have the following in your child's Admission folder by February 7:
  

  • the online application, including Family Information (Part I) and the Parent-Guardian Questionnaire (Part II).
  • recent progress report

  
  For Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5 applicants:
  

  • the appropriate AISNE independent school evaluation form. 
  • appropiate school visits (PK & K: individual and group visit, Saturday Testing Day for Grades 1-6) 

  
  For Grade 6 applicants, please include:
  

  • the Tenacre teacher checklist form 

  
  Decision notifications will be sent on March 10, 2020 and financial aid grant letters will be mailed on March 10, 2020. Parents are asked to reply as soon as possible, but no later than April 10, 2020.
  
  

  Wait-lists of acceptable candidates are usually established for all grade levels each year. If wait-listed, it is the parent’s responsibility to inform Tenacre if they wish their child’s name to remain on this list.