Applying to Wingra

Application for admission to Wingra School has three components:

The completed Student Application Form. This is the gray form that parents fill out. It is important to sign this form in two places, at the bottom of the third page and on the back of the application form. Your signature allows us to gather information from your child's previous school and to request school records if your child is ultimately enrolled. Please take some time in filling out the application. Your input will help to ensure that we make a good match in admission and placement decisions.
Student Application Form (MS Word file) »

The completed Teacher Comment Form. This form is filled out by a previous teacher or child-care provider and asks some of the same questions that are asked of parents in the Student Application Form. We find that the input provided by teachers or others who know the child in a learning context is very helpful. This form is required for admissions consideration and will only be waived if the child has had no previous nursery school, preschool, or other PK-8 schooling experience. Admission applications will not be considered until this completed form is received at Wingra.
Teacher Comment Form for grades K-5, ages 5-11 (MS Word file) »
Teacher Comment Form for grades 6-8, ages 11-14 (MS Word file) »

The $100 Application Fee. Checks should be made payable to Wingra School. This fee is not refundable unless it is the decision of Wingra not to offer enrollment to the applicant. Space limitations will be made known to the family at the time of application.

All of the above materials should be mailed to:
Director
Wingra School
3200 Monroe Street
Madison, WI 53711

Teacher Comment Forms and other application materials may also be faxed to the school at (608) 238-6316 .

Admissions decisions

At Wingra School we believe that learning is a lifelong process that is engaged in by each person in a unique way. We believe that individual learning is enhanced when it occurs in a cooperative and caring context. We believe that the lives of children are enriched when they learn within a diverse community that recognizes and appreciates differences among people. There is no profile of the "ideal Wingra kid," and we do not use any form of testing in our admissions process. Most students who apply to Wingra are offered enrollment if space is available in their age group.

Wingra does not discriminate against any person on the basis of gender, race, color, religious belief, sexual orientation, national origin, political persuasion, disability, or physical appearance. However, as a small school with a cooperative community focus, we do recognize certain limitations when considering students for enrollment, and we reserve the right to determine when Wingra is not the optimal school placement for an applying child. There are generally two reasons why a child may not be offered enrollment at Wingra when space is available:

1. Wingra does not employ specialists to serve children with exceptional educational needs. While the training and dedication of our staff allows us to teach a variety of children, some with significant learning differences, we reserve the right to determine that an applying child would be better served in a setting where specialized interventions are offered as part of the school program. Examples of these interventions include speech and language services, intensive behavioral supports, physical therapy, and other highly specialized learning support.

2. Because of the higher degree of freedom and choice at Wingra, children must be able to respond to gentle verbal reminders, and must, within a reasonable amount of time, be able to accept the basic ground rules for positive interactions with their peers. Wingra may not offer enrollment to students with significant emotional and behavioral issues that might prevent them from accepting these ground rules within a reasonable amount of time. Wingra reserves the right to conclude that these students would be better served in a school with staff trained to provide emotional and behavioral support.

The admissions process at Wingra mainly involves gathering information about applicants from parents and past or current teachers. Typically, admission decisions can be made within 2 to 3 weeks of the receipt of a complete application. Sometimes more information about the applicant is needed to make an admissions decision. When this is the case, school staff will arrange one or more of the following: a school visit to observe the child and talk with current teachers; a formal and complete school records request; an interview with parent and/or child; and a visit to Wingra for the applicant. When one or more of these follow-up steps is taken, an admissions decision can take as long as four weeks. All admissions decisions are shared confidentially and in writing after they are made. If Wingra does not offer enrollment to an applicant, the $100 application fee is returned.

Admissions timetable

If space is available, a child may be admitted to Wingra School at any time during the school year. Tuition is prorated for children admitted after the beginning of the academic year

Contracts are offered to returning families and for siblings of returning families in early February. New families are offered contracts at this time on a space-available basis or are put on a waiting list if space is not available. If Wingra School is not able to offer admittance by the beginning of the school year, the application fee is refunded.