Financial Aid

Raritan Valley Montessori Academy and The Cherry Blossom Montessori School have always funded the schools' annual operating expenses with tuition dollars. We will not compromise on the quality of education that we offer. This means tuition dollars go to ensuring educational excellence first before other programs are funded.  While recognizing that some sacrifice on the part of the parents is appropriate for something as crucial as children's education, the school knows that financial assistance is sometimes necessary to build and maintain the sort of student body our schools aspire to have and the children deserve. Consequently, since the beginning of the school in 1967, significant funds have always been devoted to tuition assistance. For the 2009-2010 academic year, Raritan Valley and The Cherry Blossom Montessori Schools distributed 15% of its projected tuition income in need-based financial aid.

In order for us to allocate our resources wisely and fairly, we have enlisted the help of Independent School Management's FAST (Financial Aid for School Tuition) program. ISM's FAST does not decide whether financial assistance will be given or how much to give; rather FAST provides a need-based financial aid analysis service. FAST provides the school with a report, which includes a recommendation of what a family should reasonably contribute toward tuition. All information from FAST is kept confidential. Applications are reviewed by the Head and Associate Head of Schools and upon approval, financial aid offers are sent to the families. No financial aid procedure can be entirely equitable; there are simply too many individual factors and extenuating circumstances. Therefore, this process will help us determine the most effective use of our financial aid dollars. 

PROCEDURES FOR PARENTS:

  1. Parents are asked to access the F.A.S.T. Program website specifically for Raritan Valley Montessori Academy or The Cherry Blossom Montessori School applicants. Once on the appropriate application, click on the Get Started button at the bottom of the first page. All of your financial information should be entered directly through the secure server.  Space is also provided to fill out additional information that may be pertinent to your application. In addition, a copy of your most recent tax return should be mailed directly to FAST. 
  2. There will be a fee of $34 required to process this application. Once completed, the application will be available immediately for the school's review. You may be contacted by the school if additional information is needed.
PROCEDURES FOR RARITAN VALLEY MONTESSORI ACADEMY AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM MONTESSORI SCHOOL:
  1. Once the application is entered the school can access your application.
  2. The Head and Associate Head of Schools then meet to review each family's completed online application. 
  3. Upon approval, financial aid offers are sent to families.
It is our desire to extend financial aid offers before families sign and secure contracts. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. The most frequent cause of such delays is late application for financial aid. Families may contact our school to request extensions, but these cannot always be granted.



created by: the visual studio
parent login