ENROLLMENT
Thank you for your interest in joining our muddy family! The first part of our enrollment process includes submitting an Interest Form.
For program details, including tuition rates and classroom descriptions, please visit our Locations page to learn more about your program/s of interest. In the winter, Tiny Trees plans for the upcoming summer and school year. Please check back in the spring for summer 2023 and 2023-24 school year information.
Enrollment Information
We begin the enrollment period by inviting our current families to enroll for the next school year. Next, we send staggered waves of registration invitations to all families who submitted an Interest Form. Next, enrollment is opened to the public for everyone to access on our website (either as our enrollment form and/or as our program waitlist, depending on the current capacities).
APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE OR A SCHOLARSHIP
Tiny Trees has a financial assistance program and also helps families connect with other funding opportunities, such as the Working Connections Child Care subsidy (we are an approved provider/some of our locations are eligible to accept this subsidy), and the Seattle Preschool Program (at some of our locations).
Tiny Trees financial assistance is available for both summer and school year programming. The Tiny Trees financial assistance application opens (becomes available online in the enrollment form) during enrollment. At the time of application, applicants need to provide your household size, annual income, and supporting documentation. All possible resources will be considered by the Tiny Trees team to find applicants the best financial assistance package.
Tiny Trees Financial Assistance
We offer a sliding-scale financial assistance structure to more broadly serve our families. A starting point in our decision, though not the only consideration, are household incomes that are less than 400% of the national poverty line. Our financial assistance pool is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations, corporations, and partnerships with organizations and entities that believe in our program.
TINY TREES TERMINOLOGY
We recognize that many places and people use the same words differently, so here is some information to clarify what these terms mean at Tiny Trees Preschool.
Interest Form: Families can submit an Interest Form throughout the year. The form does not guarantee enrollment, nor is it a waitlist application. The Interest Form lets us know that you want to receive preschool information and a registration invitation for the year that your child is eligible to enroll at Tiny Trees Preschool.
Interest List: Also known as the Enrollment Interest List, this list is created using information we’ve received from Interest Forms.
Registration Invitation: We email invitations welcoming families to access our enrollment portal and complete their student’s registration.
Enrollment: We use “enrollment” and “registration” interchangeably; they both mean to formally complete the process (sign-up and submit payment) to confirm a child’s spot in a program.
Enrollment Period: Our enrollment period begins every spring (typically in late February or early March) for the following school year. Our enrollment period does not have an official end date; enrollment remains open until programs fill up.
Program: Sometimes “program” and “class” are used interchangeably, but the program typically indicates more detailed information. Traditionally, some Tiny Trees locations have had multiple class offerings (different timing or frequency of sessions), so we differentiate these options by calling them “programs” rather than “classes” to avoid confusion. For example, the “Carkeek Park Class” has a 5-day AM Program and a 3-day PM Program.
Program Waitlist: Our waitlist is created annually during our Enrollment Period. When a program fills up (has reached the maximum number of students) and its enrollment is closed, families are welcome to sign up on the program waitlist for their preferred program/s. During this time, some families enroll in a different program and get on the waitlist for their preferred program, and some families do not enroll and only sign up on the program waitlist. If/when any spots become available in a previously closed/full program, we notify families on the program waitlist. This occurs whenever a spot opens (whether it’s in the spring or summer before school starts, or during the school year). Some programs are more popular than others, so waitlist lengths vary. We cannot guarantee that families on the waitlist will be able to enroll. Our waitlist is created annually. This means that, for example, if an opening becomes available for the 2020-21 school year, we contact families on the 2020-21 program waitlist (that was created in spring 2020) and do not use the spring 2019 program waitlist.