Families Together Cooperative Nursery School Application for Enrollment 2022-2023 School Year Step 1 of 7 14% Thank you for your interest in applying to Families Together Cooperative Nursery School! This application should take about 10 minutes to complete. If you would prefer to fill out a paper application and turn it into the office with your application fee, you may do so HERE. Families Together Cooperative Nursery School (FTCNS) is a non-sectarian school that admits, welcomes, and nurtures children and families with different abilities, family structures, socio-economic levels, and cultural, ethnic, linguistic, gender, religious, racial, and other social identities. We endeavor to balance the following priorities in our approach to admissions: 1. Giving students an equal chance to attend FTCNS and avoiding admissions processes that individually evaluate students or their families or give priority admissions to certain students in a non-transparent way. 2. Constructing and maintaining a diverse school community that celebrates and reflects the differences in students’ and families’ social identities and reflects the demographics of our surrounding community. FTCNS offers priority enrollment to returning students and siblings. In order to keep the admissions process impartial and open to all families, FTCNS admits new students through a blind lottery. The blind lottery is conducted after returning student/sibling enrollment is completed. Once lottery numbers have been assigned, we make every effort to give families their first choice of class/classes in lottery order, while attempting to balance for diverse classes. Child's Full Name:* First Last Nickname/Preferred Name: Nickname/Preferred name: Date of Birth:*Month123456789101112Day12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031Year202420232022202120202019201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995199419931992199119901989198819871986198519841983198219811980197919781977197619751974197319721971197019691968196719661965196419631962196119601959195819571956195519541953195219511950194919481947194619451944194319421941194019391938193719361935193419331932193119301929192819271926192519241923192219211920Language(s) spoken by or to your child: How does your family/your child define your child's gender identity?* How do you define your child/family's ethnic and/or racial identity? Name(s) of Parent(s)/Guardian(s):*Home Address:* Street Address Address Line 2 City AlabamaAlaskaAmerican SamoaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaGuamHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthern Mariana IslandsOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaPuerto RicoRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahU.S. Virgin IslandsVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingArmed Forces AmericasArmed Forces EuropeArmed Forces Pacific State ZIP Code Parent/Guardian #1 Phone:*Parent/Guardian #1 Email:* Parent/Guardian #2 Phone:Parent/Guardian #2 Email: Class/Program SelectionIn the following sections, please indicate your choice(s) for your ideal class or combination of Core Classes and Auxiliary Classes (Lunch Bunch and Dandelions). This setup allows you to tailor your child's early school experience to best fit your family's needs. Class Preferences First Choice Core Class Preferences*Below, please put a check next to your first choice class. 2 Day AM Junipers (ages 2 1/2 to 4 • Th/F • 9-11:30 am) 3 Day AM Junipers (ages 2 1/2 to 4 • M/Tu/W • 9-11:30 am) 5 Day AM Junipers (ages 2 1/2 to 4 • M/Tu/W/Th/F • 9-11:30 am) 4 Day AM Willows (ages 3 to 4 1/2 • M/Tu/W/Th • 8:30-11 am) 3 Day PM Maples (ages 3 1/2 to 5 • M/Tu/W • 12:30-3:30 pm) 4 Day PM Oaks (ages 3 1/2 to 5 • M/Tu/W/Th • 1-4 pm) Second Choice Core Class Preferences*Below, please put a check next to your second choice class. 2 Day AM Junipers (ages 2 1/2 to 4 • Th/F • 9-11:30 am) 3 Day AM Junipers (ages 2 1/2 to 4 • M/Tu/W • 9-11:30 am) 5 Day AM Junipers (ages 2 1/2 to 4 • M/Tu/W/Th/F • 9-11:30 am) 4 Day AM Willows (ages 3 to 4 1/2 • M/Tu/W/Th • 8:30-11 am) 3 Day PM Maples (ages 3 1/2 to 5 • M/Tu/W • 12:30-3:30 pm) 4 Day PM Oaks (ages 3 1/2 to 5 • M/Tu/W/Th • 1-4 pm) Auxiliary Program Preferences:First Choice Lunch Bunch*Please indicate your first choice Lunch Bunch attendance day(s) below. Lunch Bunch is for children ages 3 to 6 and meets daily M-Th from 11 am-1 pm. Children will be picked up by a Lunch Bunch teacher from the AM classes and/or brought to the PM classes for check-in. Core Class registration is required to enroll in Lunch Bunch. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday I am not interested in Lunch Bunch. Second Choice Lunch Bunch*Please indicate your second choice Lunch Bunch attendance day(s) below. Lunch Bunch is for children ages 3 to 6 and meets daily M-Th from 11 am-1 pm. Children will be picked up by a Lunch Bunch teacher from the AM classes and/or brought to the PM classes for check-in. Core Class registration is required to enroll in Lunch Bunch. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday I am not interested in Lunch Bunch. Dandelions*Please indicate if you would like to register for Dandelions below. Dandelions is for children ages 3 1/2 to 6 and meets Fridays (Fall & Spring 9-11:30 am and Winter 8:45-11:45 am). To enroll in Dandelions, students must be enrolled in a Core Class. Dandelions Fridays (ages 3 1/2 to 6 • Fall & Spring • 9-11:30 am • Winter • 8:45-11:45 am) I am not interested in Dandelions. Does your child have any special developmental needs?*These would be any physical, speech/communication, sensory processing or behavioral challenges that we should take into account in our class placement process. Please note that information shared in this section will NOT affect your child's chance of admission to FTCNS but instead will better allow us to support each child's learning and development. Virtual Admissions Coffee Date Completed: MM slash DD slash YYYY Did you complete the virtual admissions coffee? Completion is required for admission. If you have not yet completed, please leave blank.Admissions Q & A Session via Zoom Attended: MM slash DD slash YYYY Did you attend an Admissions Q & A Session via Zoom? Completion is optional for admission. If you have not yet completed, leave blank.In Person Tour Date: MM slash DD slash YYYY Did you attend an in-person tour? Completion is optional for admission. If you have not yet completed, please leave blank.How did you hear about Families Together Cooperative Nursery School?*Please be as specific as possible. Friend NPN Directory Together Playgroup at Immanuel Church Sign in front of building Online (Google, Yelp!, etc.) Community Event WBEZ Sponsorship Poster/postcard/brochure Facebook/Instagram Other Tuition/Financial Aid/DepositFamilies Together Cooperative Nursery School (FTCNS) is committed to offering a high-quality early childhood program while paying a competitive living wage to our staff and being financially accessible to families of different means. Annual tuition is based upon a sliding scale relative to a family’s income level and can be paid on an annual, semi-annual or monthly basis. When/if our sliding scale is not affordable for a family, we may also offer additional financial aid. Financial aid recipients often already qualify for some of our lowest tuition levels. Aid is also sometimes granted to families at higher tuition levels who are facing financial crisis or whose current financial circumstances are very different from that which is reflected on their tax return. FTCNS strives to be a diverse, integrated, and equitable preschool that brings families from different backgrounds together and makes our programs accessible to a wide range of students. Our work towards this goal may be a factor used in determining financial aid awards as we aim to have our school reflect the diverse demographics of our larger community and lift barriers for students from groups that have been typically under-represented in private schools. Other factors considered in determining aid awards include: the number of class and auxiliary program days a child is attending; the number of people in a child’s family; the family’s overall assets and debt; any extenuating financial circumstances or crisis; whether a family’s current financial circumstances are significantly different than what is reflected on their tax return; and the number and nature of requests we get in a given year. Once a class placement has been offered for your child, a non-refundable tuition deposit of $500.00 will be due to guarantee placement in the classroom. For families at Levels 1, 2, and 3, if paying the $500 deposit in one lump sum creates financial hardship, please contact Kate Brenner at businessmanager@ftcns.org to discuss payment arrangements. A non-refundable fee of $50.00 must accompany this application (new families only). Application fees may be waived on a case-by-case basis due to financial hardship. IMPORTANT: Once the information portion of your application is complete and signed, you will be directed to complete the application fee payment. This is for New Families only (see below for further details). Payment will be done securely through PayPal. You can also submit a check payable to "FTCNS" if you would prefer. NEW FAMILIES: A non-refundable $50.00 fee is required for new FTCNS families to complete this application. One application fee per family, not per child. RETURNING FAMILIES: The application fee is waived for returning families. FEE WAIVER: The application fee may be waived on a case-by-case basis due to financial hardship. If this is the case, please contact us immediately. Applications for new families will NOT be considered complete unless accompanied by the application fee or appropriate fee waiver. By signing below, I indicate understanding and acceptance of the following. If my child is accepted to FTCNS, I understand that: At least one adult from my child’s family is required to assist in my child’s classroom on a regularly scheduled basis. This adult cannot bring children other than the enrolled student when they assist. The assisting adult must have all required paperwork on file to participate. One adult from my child’s family is required to serve on a school committee, the Board of Directors, or participate in a committee buy-out. All families are expected to work within their means to help sustain the co-op by participating in all-school meetings and activities, donating requested supplies and resources, participating in fundraising initiatives, and recruiting new families. If developmentally appropriate, it is expected that parents of enrolled students work with their child towards the goal of toilet training before the start of school in September. The FTCNS diaper changing facilities are limited and the classes are designed to give children lots of opportunities to use the bathroom. However, if a child is not developmentally ready, FTCNS is able to accommodate children in parent-provided diapers/pull-ups in each class except for Dandelions where children must be comfortable using the toilet independently. In order to protect the health of all families, FTCNS strongly encourages all families to fully vaccinate their children. My child will need to be up-to-date with all immunizations in accordance with the immunization schedule from the Illinois Department of Public Health unless I provide a doctor's note of exemption or a letter requesting religious exemption from immunizations. The $50.00 application fee and $500.00 deposit are non-refundable. No exceptions. e-Signature of Parent or Guardian* Date* MM slash DD slash YYYY
