The Sharon Academy

1. Do families have to pay tuition for their student to attend The Sharon Academy?

Due to Vermont’s funding laws, The Sharon Academy is considered a “public” school for over 75% of our students. Towns in Vermont without a designated middle or high school (sending towns) pay tuition for their students to attend any school of their choice. While Vermont’s school funding laws allow for this choice, they also place significant limitations on an independent school like The Sharon Academy. Towns are only required to pay independent schools up to the amount of the Vermont state average tuition.  

While public schools can and do charge more than the state-average tuition, The Sharon Academy purposely maintains this low tuition rate, so that students from sending towns pay no additional tuition. For students from towns which have their own (or designated) school, the family is responsible for tuition. For 2008-2009, the Vermont state average tuition is $10,921.

All students are asked to pay annual fees that can amount to an estimated $300 every year.  These fees include field trips, sport fees, and an “intent to return” fee to hold the students’ place for the next year. 

2. Why does TSA maintain the state average tuition?

TSA sets tuition at the state average ($10,921 in 2008-09) in order to keep the school accessible to as many students as possible. As a result, 75% of our students are publicly funded, 23% of our students will be first-generation college students, and at least 16% are eligible for Dr. Dinosaur, the state health insurance for children from low income families.

The state-average tuition is incredibly low compared to regional public, independent, and private schools.  In fact, The Sharon Academy has the second lowest tuition of all schools in the Upper Connecticut River Valley; with some local public schools charging 65% more per pupil.  The cost of educating our students is higher than the state average, so we are dependent on fundraising to cover the difference between tuition and actual costs. As a result, we actively encourage all TSA families to support our annual appeal as much as possible.

For 7^th – 8^th grade (and high school): Brownsville, Pittsfield, Sharon, and Stockbridge.

For 9^th – 12^th grade (in addition to the towns mentioned above): Hartland, Strafford, Tunbridge, Washington, Weathersfield, and West Windsor.

If you are interested in finding out whether or not your town is a “sending town”, contact your local school board.

4. Does TSA have any financial aid for tuition students?

The Sharon Academy does offer limited financial assistance (in that we waive additional fees for families experiencing financial difficulties) for certain fees but currently has no scholarship money for tuition. 

5. Does TSA have to meet the same state requirements for curriculum and testing as a public school?

As a state-approved independent school, TSA is required to have our 7^th, 8^th and 11^th grade students take the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) test. TSA’s 9th-11^th graders also take the PSAT every year in preparation for future college testing. Below is a table with the NECAP results from the 2007-08 school year for 11^th graders in math, reading, and writing.

6. As a small school, what kind of educational opportunities does TSA offer its students?

Opportunities for TSA students are limited only by their imagination. Students are offered many unique situations which provide them with a wealth of experiences, often of their own design. Every fall, the high school suspends classes for a two week “immersion period”, in order to produce and perform our annual musical, and every spring the Middle School does the same for a Circus. We encourage students to be actively engaged in their education through various methods, one of which can be to design their own Independent Study course. In the past, students have studied everything from Arabic, to statistics, to International Relations. We have also had several students teach their own elective class. In the 2007-08 school year, five seniors chose to take advantage of this opportunity.  Students are also able to take courses at Dartmouth College or the Community College of Vermont starting in the spring of their junior year.

We also encourage students to take advantage of study abroad programs, especially through our association with Vermont Intercultural Semesters (in Ladakh, India) and The Network of Complimentary Schools (domestic exchange program for one week- month). About 6% of our students study abroad annually.

As an independent school, TSA believes in quality over quantity. Therefore, while all of our classes are small (average size 10 – 17) and academically challenging for each student, we do not teach to a particular test. If interested, students can arrange to take an AP test in a specific class and arrange any needed preparation with the appropriate teacher. We believe that all of our classes are stimulating and academically challenging to students committed to academic success.

When asking some of the most selective undergraduate institutions about the importance of AP courses at the high school level, admissions directors emphasize the need for students to take “the most rigorous secondary school curricula available to them.”  According to these schools, an ideal four-year preparatory program includes four years of English, with extensive practice in writing; four years of math; four years of science: biology, chemistry, physics, and an advanced course in one of these subjects; three years of history, including American and European history; and four years of one foreign language.”

The Sharon Academy prides itself in offering exactly this type of education. All core classes are academically rigorous and designed to challenge all students. Our classes, even those in the math and sciences, challenge students in their writing and presentation skills. We also ask that our juniors and seniors complete an exhibition project each year which includes an 8-12 page paper and a 25 minute presentation with a visual component. This graduation requirement is extremely successful in preparing all of our students for any post-secondary education. Due to our belief that all students deserve to be challenged and our desire to decrease hierarchy within the student body, The Sharon Academy does not offer AP courses. Choice at The Sharon Academy lies in our electives, extra-curricular activities, leadership opportunities, independent studies and students’ commitment to perform to their potential. 

8. What sports and other extracurricular activities does TSA offer?

Over 60% of our students participate in sports: cross country; middle school, JV and varsity soccer; middle school, JV and varsity basketball; middle school baseball; varsity lacrosse; and varsity track are offered for both boys and girls. We also offer a variety of opportunities for students outside of regular academic classes, including: A Capella, TASC (technology and engineering competition at the University of Vermont), Yearbook, Yoga, Prom Planning Committee, Theater, (musical/one-acts), Model UN Debate, various community and international service organizations, and more.  Due to the distance that many students travel to school and our desire to encourage students to be involved in all types of extracurricular activities, many of these clubs/activities meet either during lunch or have organized into an elective for a short period. We also greatly encourage student leadership at TSA. If a student wants to create an opportunity, we help make it happen.