AFFORD 

Families that choose not to apply for indexed tuition will be expected to contribute the maximum tuition per student ($23,700 for Lower School, $28,100 for Middle School and $29,300 for Upper School).

The Business Office will send each interested family an Indexed Tuition application link. Applications should be completed and documentation submitted within two weeks of receiving the link. The Indexed Tuition application will collect financial information that will be reviewed by the Indexed Tuition Committee. 

Offers of admission will include an Enrollment Contract stating the tuition determination. These letters will be emailed in March to families who applied by the January deadline. 

We also recognize that your family may need more clarity regarding your expected family contribution before proceeding with the application process: if so, please do not hesitate to contact the tuition committee at (tuition@thadenschool.org) for an individual consultation. 

All families may apply for Indexed Tuition. In determining each family’s tuition, many factors will be considered, including but not limited to household income, family size, number of children attending tuition-based schools (including college), assets and liabilities not reflected in household income, and other factors. 

In general, families earning gross income at or over

• $350,000 should expect to pay one full tuition.

Because each family is unique, families are invited to consult with the Indexed Tuition Committee regarding their financial situations.

To ensure that family contributions are equitable and confidential, Thaden School has engaged Clarity, one of the nation’s leading tuition management services. Families that wish to apply for indexed tuition must submit several financial documents to Clarity, including recent pay stubs, W-2s, filed tax returns, and account statements. Your application for indexed tuition will be held in the strictest confidence.

Families with multiple households that apply for Indexed Tuition are required to submit financial documentation for each household with custodial responsibilities for the child. Each household’s Indexed Tuition application will be treated as confidential and completed separately. 

Your applications for Indexed Tuition and admission, while they should be submitted at the same time, will be reviewed separately.

Families should expect to reapply for indexed tuition every year unless your tuition determination has been locked in. Families who have a locked in tuition will reapply for Indexed Tuition if they have significant changes in income or a child moves up a division. 

We aspire to make admissions decisions without regard to a family’s financial resources and review applications for admission separately from applications for Indexed Tuition. However, our operating budget is based on certain assumptions regarding the amount of tuition revenue that we must generate to hire our talented faculty and maintain small student-teacher ratios. For this reason, we may not extend final offers of admission until we have estimated the total tuition revenue that our student body is likely to generate as a whole.

Your family contribution is all-inclusive: it covers not only tuition but also transportation to school, two daily meals (breakfast and lunch), all instructional materials, the cost of Thaden sponsored co-curricular activities, field trips, and the use of a personal laptop during the academic year (if applicable). 

You should expect to pay for school apparel and supplies. Families must live outside a five-mile radius of our school to be eligible for transportation.

Thaden offers a robust co-curricular program after school that all students are welcome to take advantage of. After-school supervision outside of co-curriculars is also available for $25/week.

Do not hesitate to contact Kim Strickland, Chief Finance and Operations Officer, with questions or concerns.

The Thaden Lower School home is currently in our Home Building. Students utilize many spaces on campus including the garden, the green, the library and more. By the 2026-27 academic year, the Lower School campus will be built on SE 10th St. and Benton St. on five acres across from the current Thaden campus.  

We have been accepted into the EFA program for the 2024-25 school year and the 2025-26 school year so that eligible Thaden families may choose to pursue, on their own accord, a source of tuition assistance that will make a Thaden education more affordable for them. If you have questions about EFA funds please reach out to tuition@thadenschool.org.