admissions

Thank you for your interest in The Suzuki School! Our admissions process has been designed to help you understand our philosophy and approach to early childhood education. We value our partnership with our parents, and it is important that you understand our philosophy and approach when making the decision to enroll your child at our school.

Our Programs:

The School operates as a year-round program for families who are seeking an educational program for their young children of ages birth through five years.

In addition, the school offers three full day programs:

• Full time
  • Monday through Friday

• Part time
  • Monday – Wednesday – Friday
  • Tuesday – Thursday

Although we are open from 7 AM until 6 PM, parents may drop and pick up anytime between these hours. We do ask that children arrive at school before 9 AM -- most children are typically picked up between the hours of 2 PM and 5 PM.  We do not offer a half day program.

Timing of Acceptances:

Suzuki primarily accepts new families twice a year: at the start of the School Year (Tuesday after Labor Day weekend) and at the start of the Summer Session (Tuesday after Memorial Day). In addition, the school accepts new students if attrition creates availability throughout the year. Siblings of currently enrolled students have first priority for acceptance into the school. We will try to accommodate the plans of families with infants who wish to start after the completion of their maternity leave, but ask for each prospective family’s understanding of the fact that the majority of spaces become available at the start of each session.
 

Learning About the School:

The school conducts individual tours and appointments as well as hosting informational Prospective Parent Teas throughout the year in order to provide an overview of the Suzuki curriculum, philosophy, and academic programs to families interested in applying for the following School Year or Summer Session. Parents who are interested in scheduling an appointment or attending one of these informational sessions should contact our Director of Admissions via email at admissions@suzukischool.com. Please provide your name, child's birth date, and daytime contact numbers. The Prospective Parent Teas or individual appointments are by appointment only, so please contact the school if are interested in attending.

Application Process:

If you wish to learn more about the school and/or would like to submit an application, we ask that you attend a Prospective Parent Tea, or if this is not convenient, schedule an individual tour. The Prospective Parent Teas are hosted by the Head of Schools, Debra Markham, along with other members of the support team including the Director of Admissions and the Director of the Northside Campus. During the session, Debra will provide an overview of the Suzuki Philosophy, our approach to education, and discuss current availability. You will then be given a tour of the school. The Prospective Parent Teas begin at 9:30 AM and typically last until 11:30 AM.

Parents interested in pursuing the application process after an appointment or an attendance at the Teas may then request a thirty-minute classroom observation by contacting the Admissions Director. The classroom observations are a very effective way for you to gain an understanding of the learning environment. If you are interested in scheduling a classroom observation, we ask that you do this in a timely manner as the opportunity to do so may be limited after acceptances are offered.

If you would like a tour of the Northside Campus, you may attend the Prospective Parent Tea at the Buckhead Campus and schedule a separate visit of the Northside Campus at a later date. Please contact Admissions Director via email at  admissions@suzukischool.com to set up this visit.
 

The Application

Applications accompanied by a $75 non-refundable processing fee may be submitted after a tour or observation. If you would like to receive a copy of the application with pricing, please email admissions at admissions@suzukischool.com.  Once you have submitted an application, please send an email on a periodic basis to the Admissions Director notifying her of your continued interest. We recognize that many parents have a change of plans or choose other options and it is important that we receive updates so that those families who have consistently informed us of their desire to remain on the wait list are offered a space as soon as it becomes available!

Notification of Acceptance for Summer Session:

Families submitting an application for the Summer Session, which begins the day after Memorial Day and runs through the months of June, July and August, will be notified in January as to their acceptance. Confirmation is required in the form of a non-refundable deposit: one month’s tuition in addition to a $100 supply fee which must be received within 7 days of notification of availability to ensure placement. Please note: Children enrolled for the Summer Session will be required to pay full tuition from the first day of the program, regardless of actual start date; the second month will then be prorated.
 

Notification of Acceptance for School Year:

Families submitting an application for the coming School Year will be notified during April as to their acceptance. We do offer some early acceptances for those families applying before January for the following Summer Session or School Year. Confirmation is required in the form of a non-refundable deposit: one month’s tuition in addition to a $100 supply fee which must be received within 7 days of notification of availability to ensure placement. Please note: Children enrolled for the school year (September-May) will be required to pay full tuition from the first day of the program, regardless of actual start date; again, the second month will be prorated.
 

Limited acceptance (other than the start of the regular School Year or Summer Session):

During the course of the school year, we traditionally experience some attrition. When this occurs, families on our wait list will be notified in the order in which they have applied (preference is given to siblings) or according to consistent notification of interest as to a specified availability date. Should a family accept a classroom placement, a non-refundable deposit in the amount of one month's tuition in addition to a $100 supply fee must be received within 7 days to ensure placement.
Please note: The school will hold open this placement for up to two weeks of the specified availability date. After this date, full tuition must be paid to keep your child's placement.

Thank you for your interest in The Suzuki School!
  

Scheduled Dates for Open Houses and Prospective Parent Teas (hosted at the Buckhead Campus):

Click here to sign up Prospective Parent Teas.

Common questions:

Can our child attend during the school year only? We do not offer a nine-month program, but rather staff and plan for activities year-round.  Families who withdraw a child for one to two months are required to pay the half the tuition rate for this period in order to remain on roll.

I wish to start part-time and then switch to full-time (or vice versa). Is this possible?  Yes. In order to do so, you will first submit a Change of Program request. However, the decision will be made based on availability for that program. We have a limited number of spaces designated in each program and a family may have  to wait until a space becomes open.

I wish to enroll my child in the first available space at either campus but will later transfer to my campus of choice. Is this possible? Yes, it is! You may submit a Transfer Request, which will be honored before acceptance of new students.

If my child attends part-time, may he attend additional days? As a general rule, no, since we operate both schools at capacity and we cannot exceed the licensed capacities of the classrooms nor the Suzuki teacher-child ratios.

What if I am unsure about which program may be best for my child?  If you are unsure, please keep us informed. We would suggest that you note that you are unsure so that we may contact you before offering you acceptance to the school.

Can I select “Either” location when completing my application? Yes! However, it is important that you visit both school campuses if you make this selection!

Why is the deposit non-refundable? When your child is accepted for a classroom placement, we require a non-refundable deposit in the amount of one month’s tuition in addition to a $100 supply fee to ensure the placement of your child. Please understand that if you later have a change in plans, we cannot refund the deposit since we may have since turned away other families who had applied to the school. On rare occasions, a family will accept the placement for their child and then realize that they (either the parents or the child) may not yet be ready for a school environment. Please understand that when this happens we will try to accommodate a later start date (of up to one year) and will apply any remaining amount of the original deposit to the month in which the child later begins. However, this same amount will be forfeited if this later start is not taken within the first year.