We are so glad you are considering AHNS for your child! Here is a guide through our admissions process.
There are two steps in our admissions process and can be completed in any order:
- Visit our school house! Our small group in-person tours are an opportunity to learn more about our child-centered, play based philosophy and have a guided experience through our school building and classrooms, including our indoor playground and children’s library. Tours are offered from mid October-June. These appointments are for adults only. Advanced registration is required to attend a tour (click here to schedule a tour).
- Submit an Application for Admission. You can apply before or after a tour of our school and we consider applications in the order that we receive them. Please submit your application along with a $50.00 non-refundable application fee. You are welcome to mail your application and check to AHNS, 10 Acton Street, Arlington, MA 02476 or scan and email your application to Jessica Bagley at jbagley@ahnschool.org and we will email you an invoice that you can pay online, if desired.
The application process is considered complete when you have toured the school and we have received your completed application and application fee.
Timing
Children typically begin attending AHNS in September, but may enter any time there is an opening. Applications for admission are accepted any time of year.
Our priority enrollment period, during which currently enrolled children, their siblings, and children of alumni parents receive priority in admissions decisions, is complete in mid-January.
Families who apply in the fall and winter for placement the following September can expect an admissions decision in February, or earlier, whenever possible. If you are applying at other times during the year, or for immediate entrance, you will be notified regarding admissions as soon as possible after you have completed the application process.
What’s Next?
Once the application process is complete, you will receive an acknowledgement from us by email that we have received your application and fee. The next communication you can expect from us will be an email offering your child a space or informing you that your child has been placed on a waitlist.
If you are offered a space for your child and would like to accept it, we require a one-month tuition advance to hold the space. This advance is applied toward your child’s last month of enrollment at AHNS, and is non-refundable, even if you choose later not to send your child to AHNS.
Children who do not receive a space will be placed on our waitlist. The waitlist is active, and our experience has been that many children do get in from the waitlist every year. We are unable to give information about where your child stands on the waitlist, as children are admitted from the waitlist with consideration of many factors. The following criteria is considered when determining admission: the date of application, priority status, age of child, requested schedule and available spaces, and the composition of the entire class.
Please contact Jessica Bagley at jbagley@ahnschool.org to receive information about our programs or to arrange a time to visit the school.