Become a Brightworks
Family
A Step-By-Step Guide
Step 1: Get to know us
Join us for an Event!
Fall Open Houses are 10/5, 11/16 and 12/4. Virtual events are 12/11 and 1/8. Our BI&PoC family event is 1/16.
Informational Open Houses, virtual events and community educational events happen each fall and winter. For the most part these are open to prospective students of all ages. Sessions are designed to share information about our program generally, answer your more specific questions and help you get a feel for the school.
Follow Along
Read more about the goings-on at Brightworks by reading our blog or following us through social media! Updates are posted by staff and current parents.
Dive In
From our origins to the day-to-day experience, our informational videos walk you through some core facets of the Brightworks experience. Please scan through the videos to get a sense of the curriculum and pedagogical approach of our school.
Step 2: Fill out an Application
DUE: 1/21/25
We take your application very seriously, and consider it to be a critically important part of the process of discovering whether there is a good fit between Brightworks and your student, and Brightworks and your entire family.
Given Brightworks’ unique approach to a child’s education, it is important that both the school and family applying have ample opportunity to explore ideas, questions, thoughts, and feelings, and our application serves as a springboard for those later conversations.
All applications, application fee, and supporting materials for the 2025/2026 school year are due by Tuesday, January 21, 2025 for priority consideration.
We are supported by the online application system Ravenna and encourage families to sign up for an account and use the online system to track required materials and application status.
Every family is welcome to apply, and should contact us if the application fee presents a hardship for your family. Applications received after spots have been filled will be placed in our wait pool. Should a spot open during the year, we will reopen the enrollment process and consider wait pool applicants for placement at Brightworks.
Step 3: Learn about Tuition Assistance
Apply Via Clarity & designate Brightworks as one of your schools
DUE: 1/21/25
Tuition for the 2024/2025 school year is $41,853. Brightworks is dedicated to providing tuition assistance where needed, and currently assists over a third of our families. Our tuition assistance is primarily reserved for families with demonstrated inability to pay for full tuition.
We encourage families who are experiencing financial hardship to fill out the Tuition Assistance Application via the 3rd party platform, Clarity. This tool helps us assess families’ ability to pay for tuition. Please read our Tuition & Aid page for more information about tuition assistance.
We also encourage lower-income families applying to private school for the first time to apply for tuition funding through the BASIC fund. Please visit their website for more information.
Step 4: Family Conversations
After applications, we’ll set aside to get to know one another via zoom
After the application deadline, we will contact applicant families to arrange a conversation with our Admissions Team. These conversations happen over Zoom and will last 45 minutes. We will be in touch with scheduling information in January after the application deadline has passed.
This is a conversation between your family and our team aimed at deepening your understanding of our approach and clarifying our understanding of your needs and aspirations so we can figure out if Brightworks is the right fit for your family.
Step 5: Student Visits
One of our favorite parts of the admissions process is meeting prospective students during a visit to the school in February. We email all applicant families with further information and registration information after the January application deadline.
Step 6: Notification of Acceptance
Admissions decisions are made thoughtfully, based primarily on the family’s and school’s shared vision regarding educational approaches and practices. There is no preference given for the date your application is received, although we do give priority to siblings of current students.
Notice of first round acceptances will be released on March 20, 2025. Enrollment agreements and deposits will be due the following week.
Students to whom we are not able to offer admission will be placed in our wait pool upon request, in case there are fall, winter, or spring admissions openings.