Wooster School Introduces Variable Tuition

Head of School Matt Byrnes announced last week that Wooster School is introducing a new initiative to promote the accessibility and affordability of independent education:  a Variable Tuition program aimed at local communities. “For ninety-one years Wooster has been providing substantial financial aid to families who wanted a Wooster experience for their children, but did not have the means to pay full tuition,” said Byrnes. “We want to ensure that local communities especially are aware of, and are able to benefit from, this long-standing part of our mission. I talk to a lot of parents who say, ‘I’d love to have my child attend Wooster, but there’s no way we can afford it.’ By making Wooster’s philosophy and commitment to affordability clear, we can open up possibilities for a lot more people - it’s a win-win.” 

Variable Tuition is more than just a different way to promote awareness of the opportunities at Wooster. “As a not-for-profit institution, and an independent school, we believe that it is integral to our ethos that we create a learning community that is truly representative of our society. Rather than describing our pursuit of this goal as “financial aid,” which often carries the implication of a handout, we want to acknowledge the truth of the reality that every family has a unique set of financial circumstances, and that every one of our families - no matter its income level - is making a sacrifice to have their children attend Wooster because they know what a difference it will make in their lives. It’s a long-term investment that is worth the expense.” Currently, Wooster families pay variable tuition at levels ranging from ten to one hundred percent. “Everybody contributes at the level that is possible for them,” said Byrnes. 

Byrnes also emphasized the beneficial effect that a truly diverse learning environment can have on students. “Because we’ve created this environment which is diverse on so many levels - socio-economic, racial , religious - our students are routinely developing much stronger relationship skills as they encounter different perspectives and have to be articulate in expressing their own. Everyone learns from each other. They’re getting ready for the real world.  This is one of our great strengths as a school, and a primary reason why so many of our current families chose Wooster.”

When asked about Wooster’s capacity to welcome even more families into its community, Byrnes was optimistic. “We’re in a great position right now and want to increase our capacity to serve local families by embracing our enduring values and advancing them more energetically throughout all the different communities we can serve. Our school prayer encourages us to move ‘from strength to strength,’ and this is a great opportunity to do just that.”

Learn more by visiting http://woosterschool.org/affording.

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Submitted by Ridgefield, CT

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