2024 Tuition Rates for Morning Preschool

Five days a week: $1109 per month

Three days a week: $754 per month

Two days a week: $586 per month

*We raise tuition 2.3% per year, every January

*Tuition is the same amount every month of the school year, regardless of the number of school days.

After I apply, how likely is it that my child will get a spot?

Due to a high-volume of applications, we use a lottery system to offer spots to new families.

Where’s the building?

Our school operates ALL OUTDOORS, which means we don’t have an indoor space. It’s a passion of ours to teach children how to become comfortable outdoors in all kinds of weather.

If the weather presents a sudden risk to us (such as lightening or high winds) we do have a covered area we can walk to about five minutes away from our regular location.

Our regular location is in Washington Park. We are there with explicit permission, fully permitted through the Portland Parks. This is not true for several other forest schools in the area.

Do you offer Financial Assistance?

Yes! We offer discounted tuition rates to families who need assistance for the school year.

We are using a lottery system for new families seeking tuition aid. Financial Aid offers come out in July before school starts in Fall.

Currently, we are not offering tuition assistance for Summer Camp.

What hours do you operate?

Our morning preschool (ages 3-5) is in operation Monday through Friday, 9am to 1pm. The morning program is available for five days, three days, or two days.

Summer Camp is slightly earlier in the day due to higher temperatures in Summer. Also, we only take children who are already 4 or fully potty trained.

What are the dates for Camp?

Our Summer program 2024 is two sessions:

Session 1: July 1st to July 26th

Session 2: July 29th to August 23rd

Summer Camp registration opens February 10th.

We also have an alumni camp for children who have already graduated from our program but want to have a week to see their old friends :)

What is your response to Covid-19?

We encourage mask wearing when in close proximity.

We consistently wash hands or use hand sanitizer before meals at school. We have a private bathroom that only our classroom can use.

Children who are sick or have early symptoms will be sent home until symptoms resolve. We also require a negative Covid test five days after symptoms begin.

My child isn’t fully potty trained, can I still enroll them?

Because of the logistics of running an outdoor program, we need every child to be potty trained before they start school. That said, we will work with young ones to encourage frequent bathroom-ing and clean up any accidents that may occur.

How do you handle difficult or “negative” behavior?

We believe that children employ all kinds of behavior in accordance with their internal needs and that a lot of their behavior is not necessarily a reaction to the order or culture of the “adult” world, therefore we try to observe behavior to tell us what might be happening internally for the child and how to meet those needs. Our school does not believe in punishment but rather focuses on keeping everyone safe, helping children learn to regulate their energy through emotional regulation tools, and extensive conflict resolution curriculum such as the peace rose and democratic group discussions.

What about when it rains?

We get this question a lot and… WE LOVE RAIN! Rain provides children with fun, squishy mud and puddles to splash in. Rain helps all the plants and animals around us. Rain helps us grow an appreciation for many kinds of weather. Rain allows us to collect water to play with and make “forest potions”. Rain gives us opportunity to learn about ecology and water systems.

What people new to forest schools are often curious about though is more “How do you stay comfortable in cold, rainy weather?” The answer is: Layers. Every day below 60 degrees we wear base layers (usually wool) mid-layers (often thick fleece or puffy down), and most importantly an outer layer that is fully waterproof (including raincoats, rain pants, and rubber boots.) Forest school children learn early on the importance of layers and we keep very close watch on their body temperatures for safety.

We also have a covered structure a short hike away from our classroom.

Do you have a gear list?

Yes! Glad you asked.

We also have special discounts with the Outdoor School Shop and Polarn O Pyret. Email the school for more details.

In what scenarios would you close school?

Though we pride ourselves in finding the join in rain or cold weather, for safety, we will close school for lightning storms, high winds, extreme heat, extreme cold, and high smoke days. We also will have to close school if we have a Covid outbreak so everyone can get tested. Very rarely, we have to close school if they roads are closed, such as they did in the January ‘24 ice storm.

What is your class size?

We keep a teacher-student ratio of at least 1:6. Currently, we decided to cap our class at 12 children per day. This may expand in the future up to 14 children but we are committed to keeping our ratios small. Additionally, we often have extra teachers on hand to keep our ratios low. Our most common daily ratio is 1 teacher per 3.5 children.

Where are you located?

We operate out of Washington Park in SW Portland.

My child has special needs. Can you accommodate them?

One size does not fit all and we would love to discuss accommodations for your family. Please email us to set up a phone call for your specific situation.

This school sounds great! How can I get involved?

We encourage parent helpers in the classroom and are actively looking for interns who want to learn more about outdoor education.

Though we love having parents help in our forest classroom, we require that for the first six weeks of school students come to school on their own so they have time to get to know their teachers and learn school routines without their parent there.

If you’d like to volunteer and being in a classroom isn’t your thing, no worries. We are also looking for someone to help us advertise and fundraise for scholarships.

How else can parents stay connected to what’s happening in the classroom?

Using StoryPark, a private social media program, we write a daily summary with photos and quotes from your kids. Only our school community can see the updates. It’s also a great way to include grandparents and nannies in what’s happening in your child’s learning.

During Summer Camps, we put out a weekly newsletter for enrolled families.

Are you a licensed school?

Very recently the state approved licensure for Forest Schools. For the sake of funding more scholarships, we are discussing the possibility of becoming a licensed forest school. However, we are preschool recorded with the state, which means you can look up any complaints, see enrollment information, and we guarantee all our instructors are background checked and have first aid and CPR training. We also require all enrolled students to show vaccination records or exemption status.

Are you hiring?

We are hiring skilled substitute teachers to join our team!

We also love volunteers and interns helping out and learning from our school. We are especially interested in offering free training to the next generation of outdoor educators.