Admissions & Tuition

• Early morning care and extended day programs
• All school supplies, including technology
• Daytime field trips
• Overnight field trips grades 3rd-5th

The following tuition table is for the 2025-2026 school year:

Extended Day Hours

• Before School 7:45 am until 8:30 am - cost included in tuition
• After School 3:15 pm until 5:30 pm - cost included in tuition

Questions? Reach to Ken Bender, Director of Enrollment Management.

As a school community committed to justice and equity, Giddens School has a long history of creating access to our learning community regardless of economic capacity. This strong commitment to being a school for all mission-aligned families compels us to continue developing practices that allow a diversity of families to choose Giddens.

This commitment has prompted us to take another important step away from a traditional financial aid model and toward Family Individualized Tuition (FIT), a model designed to customize a family’s financial commitment based on their income, expenses, and assets.

Though participation in FIT is voluntary, we welcome all families to apply. Families that qualify for FIT will receive a tuition rate in equitable proportion to their economic resources.

To begin your journey, we ask that you apply through Clarity Tuition. Our decision to use Clarity is because of its promise to offer a mobile-friendly, streamlined process in under 30 minutes. An application process that is accessible, simple, and direct is another important step in ensuring that we continue to be a community inclusive of families from a broad range of economic circumstances.

Please note that there is a $60 application fee associated with the Clarity application. We are happy to waive this fee for any family who would consider this fee a barrier to applying. To request a waiver, please email financialaid@giddensschool.org.

We will begin accepting and reviewing FIT applications beginning September 15, 2025. To participate, we ask families to submit their application no later than February 9, 2026. Once a family has completed their application, they will receive a timely review and FIT amount. Our hope is that providing a tuition amount earlier on in the application process will encourage more families to explore Giddens as a community where their child can grow and thrive.

Family Application Guides or Quick Reference Guides

In addition to the cost of tuition, your FIT award will cover at the same rate costs for day camps and Summer BLAST Camp. For example, if you receive an 80% reduction in your tuition investment, you will also receive that same percentage off for any of the aforementioned programs. Additionally, Giddens offers full and partial scholarships for all after-school enrichment programs.

Our exceptional extended day program is now included in the cost of tuition!

Tuition Billing

Giddens uses FACTS Management for our tuition and incidental billing. Tuition invoices are emailed around the 10th of the month and are due on the 1st of the following month. The first tuition charge is due on July 1st. The tuition deposit (10% of the total tuition), will be credited against your full tuition balance, reducing all tuition payments evenly. Tuition is billed according to your payment plan selection: 10 monthly (Jul-Apr), 4 quarterly (Jul/Oct/Jan/Apr), or 1 annual installment (July). If you receive financial aid, your tuition billing will reflect your portion of tuition after the aid is applied.

Tours are an exciting part of the admissions process and are encouraged. Tours offer the opportunity to personally ask questions and experience our classrooms and community.

2025-26 Small Group Tour Schedule

Tuesdays & Thursdays
9:00-11:00 am
October 6 through January 29
Our full tour schedule and registration page is available through your application in Ravenna Admit.

To schedule an individual in-person tour, please contact Ken Bender.

Preschool and Pre-K Open House

Wednesday, November 20, from 4:00-5:00 pm
In-Person at Giddens School
Registration is not required but appreciated

Kindergarten-5th Grades

Wednesday, December 11, from 4:00-5:00 pm
In-Person at Giddens School
Registration is not required but appreciated

Giddens School is a participating member of Puget Sound Independent Schools (an admissions collaborative connecting families and schools).

This year, PSIS will host a number of opportunities to meet participating schools and learn more about topics of interest to many families, including affording independent schools, and choosing your first school.

• Rainier Scholars/Families of Color Fair, Wednesday, October 16, from 5:30-7:30 pm. Hamlin Robinson School
• PSIS All School Fair, Sunday, October 20, from 2:00-3:30 pm. University Prep School

Visit the PSIS website for news and details on upcoming school fairs and opportunities to learn more about the independent school community.

Our standard admission season is from September-March each year. Families who want their applications considered for the following school year should plan to begin and complete their applications within this timeframe.

For families seeking a current year placement, we offer a rolling admissions process. Reach out to our admissions office to learn more.

We very much want to include children in our admissions process, and student visits are a great way to accomplish this. Here is our plan for visits:

• Children preschool-K will be invited to to visit Giddens in-person for a 45 minute play-date.
• Children grades 1-5 will be invited to visit Giddens in-person for a half day (8:30-12:30) classroom visit.

We believe all children benefit from a progressive learning environment. We look for students who are interested in learning, are creative, and want to be a part of a classroom community; and for families who believe in our mission, vision, and values.

An application is considered complete when all steps connected to the application have been completed and submitted. Only completed applications will be reviewed.

Parents/Guardians of applicants to grades 1-5 will meet in-person or virtually with our Head of School as the last step of our application process, and when all other steps have been completed. This is an opportunity for parents to talk about their child, to share their goals for their child's education, and to articulate their values related to education and school community.

Giddens School agrees to the common admission notification dates established by Puget Sound Independent Schools. For admission to the 2025-26 academic year, the notification date will be Friday, March 21, 2025. The parent/guardian response (confirmation and deposit) is due by Friday, March 28, 2025, at noon.

After March 28, we will continue to accept applications in grades where spaces are available.

When an applicant and their family is considered to be a good fit for the program, but space is not available, the applicant is placed in our wait pool. After March 28, we will contact families in our wait pool about available spots. Occasionally, additional openings may occur in late spring or summer, so it is important to keep us informed of your continued interest in Giddens School and updated with any changes to your contact information. A wait pool applicant does not have a specific place in the wait pool, but will be offered an available space based on the class composition.

Contact Ken Bender with questions.