Home » NEW Family Enrollment Process

NEW Family Enrollment Process  (Returning families go HERE)

We are currently accepting applications for the 2018/19 year.

STEP 1: Research: Explore the ALC educational model, watch our latest video and read our FAQ page . Visit our Resources page to find links to articles, websites, videos & books that have inspired us. Learn more about Self-Directed Education to understand the underlying philosophy. Follow us on Facebook to get a sense of what we do and see the day-to-day in action. Review our FEE STRUCTURE HERE.
STEP 2: Email us to talk about the program and answer questions.
STEP 3:  Once Steps 1 and 2 are complete, read and completely fill out the application form below. Please fill out one per child. There is a parent AND child section. Be sure to hit SUBMIT when you are done.
STEP 4- Below the application, click “Donate” to submit your $25 non-refundable application fee. If your child ends up joining us, this money will go toward your 1st month’s contribution. Only one $25 is needed even if you have multiple kids. If we do not have room, we will put you on the waiting list and return this fee. Contact us for questions.
STEP 5: If possible, do a visiting week(s): A visiting week allows the student to experience what it is like to be here and lets us to make sure the student is a good fit for our environment. Your child can attend a one or two week “trial period” ($75.00 for one week; $150 for two weeks). This longer visit allows students to participate in the variety of experience at Wildwood since each day is different.
Step 6: Final Enrollment: After the visiting week (if applicable) and upon review of our fee structure, complete the Contribution Proposal Worksheet. We will review all this information to determine if we have a space available at the desired tier. If accepted, pay your $200 deposit which will go toward your last month’s contribution at Wildwood.

Click below to pay your nonrefundable $25 fee. Only one $25 fee is needed per family.  

APPLICATION FORM

  • There is a parent AND child section below. Please fill out a different application for each child you are wanting to enroll. General questions about your educational philosophy or interest in Wildwood only need to be answered once per family.

  • PARENT SECTION

  • Tell us a bit about your current view on learning/homeschooling for your family. For example, would you be/are you supporting self-directed education at home, homeschooling with a curriculum, or something else? Are you just getting started and doing research, or on the fence about how you want to homeschool? Is homeschooling a clear decision or are you keeping your options open? How important are grade level standards to you? Are you curious about self-directed homeschooling (following the child's interests and choices rather than a curriculum), but need/want more information? There are no good/bad answers here, we just want to get an idea of your basic philosophy.

  • Parent Agreements - Please carefully read the agreements below. Contact us if you have questions or need clarification.

  • Wildwood ALC provides a real-world learning environment for children to develop self-direction, self-motivation and problem solving and as such never requires or coerces children to attend specific classes or engage in specific work. Wildwood will support requests for learning, but does not direct learning activities according to any curriculum or societal standards. For the smooth operation of the day, certain activities are mandatory (currently these are: morning meetings, end-day meetings, clean-up,and fire drills) -- beyond these, the choices are up to each child.
  • At Wildwood, we intentionally co-create our own culture that will be different than that of a typical educational setting, which may bring up questions or concerns for you. We welcome discussions about these and any other issues, and request that parents bring up concerns to us directly as soon as possible rather than wait.
  • Along with financial contributions, we ask parents to attend community meetings and seek opportunities to volunteer. Community meetings happen twice per semester (4 times per year), and we ask that parents avoid scheduling conflicts and have at least one parent attend every meeting. Volunteering can happen throughout the year and can include a variety of arrangements (facilitating offerings, doing laundry, being on a project committee, fundraising, grant writing, etc.).

  • Student Questions

  • Wildwood is a place where kids are free to direct their own learning and activities, yet this freedom comes with responsibilities. I understand that I am expected to: 1) Treat others with respect (whether student, volunteer, staff or parent), 2) Behave appropriate for a shared space such that I don't hurt others or interfere or disrupt others activities, 3) Participate in making, honoring rules and structures of the community, (attend meetings, clean up etc) 4) Help solve conflicts when they arise 5)Take care of facilities and clean up after myself