By Cindy Finch
Next month (April 21st) our school community will gather to raise money for tuition assistance.
Why tuition assistance? One of the founding realities of The Children’s School was that it was going to be expensive to keep classes small, hire well qualified teachers, and purchase sturdy, long-lasting materials and equipment—and that the resulting high tuition could exclude some families. Therefore, a firmly held principle was established during the school’s infancy—that a scholarship fund would provide assistance for families who value this type of education for their young children but find the full cost of tuition prohibitive.
This year’s auction theme “coming full circle” celebrates our more than 30 years as a Boise legacy. Raising money for tuition assistance has been happening since the early years of the school and my husband and I been fortunate to be able to attend most of these events—as parents, as friends of the school, and as part of the school faculty. Sometimes we only knew a few people. Sometimes we were parents in the school, as our children moved through the classrooms. Sometimes we left empty handed, when the bidding did not go our way or skyrocketed away from our family budget. More often we have taken something away, a cherished piece of art and gift certificates to favorite shops or restaurants. One of our favorite purchases remains to this day the huge basket of toothbrushes, dental floss, and toothpaste donated by a dentist/parent. We didn’t have to buy oral hygiene products for years—really.
The focus for my family, and the reason we’ve returned year after year, is that TCS remains a place we want to support—a special place where our children started their education, a place we’ve developed important adult and family relationships that have remained strong for years, and a place and an education we value for all children, today and tomorrow.
Our emphasis on raising money to support children and families is one of the things I appreciate most about The Children’s School—and there is much to celebrate here every day.