FAQ

What are the tuition and fees?

Tuition for 2022 – 2023 is $10,000.00. Most families pay in 10 monthly installments, July through April. Other payment schedules can be arranged to meet individual needs. Everyone pays the same tuition. There are no discounts, scholarships or financial aid available at this time. We have no additional fees.

Is Fayette Street Academy accredited?

FSA is not accredited. Our curriculum has evolved through carefully considering the valued input of alumni, present students and changing social patterns. Accreditation would allow an outside governing body to dictate what is taught in our classrooms. In the past 42 years, FSA’s many graduates have been accepted by a variety of accredited and non-accredited high schools and colleges in the United States and all around the world. Fayette alumni and their families frequently report back that they were very well prepared, academically as well as personally, for where ever they continued their educational journey. 

What is the structure of your multi-age classrooms?

Fayette students are ages five through twelve. The Kinders are four & five years old, and class averages 5 children. The Munchkins are eight, nine and ten years old, with an average class size of 12 students. The Bigs are ages ten through twelve. There are approximately 15 Bigs. If a child is with us until graduation from the Bigs, s/he is well prepared for high school and more importantly college and life beyond. Our faculty members include outdoor education specialists, music teachers and artists. These folks move through various classrooms throughout the week.    

We aim to maintain a balance of age and gender. To have a healthy multi-age class, all ages and an appropriate number of boys and girls is needed. Each class has a main teacher. Frequently throughout the day these classes are divided between the main teacher and a specialty teacher. For example: Half of the Bigs are in math class while the other half are in writing class. These divisions are made according to the skill and information level of the students.

Are play and recess important at Fayette?

Movement, physical and mental, is essential for learning. At FSA we delight in playful, integrative, purposeful movement. The days begin with some children swinging from the Big Elm, while others bounce balls, wobble on balance boards, and follow their teachers through obstacle courses. Before classes begin the children and teachers balance their brain hemispheres, eyes and ears with Brain Gym and related movements.    

Breaks between classes are outside unless the rain pours. Benches, wooden decks, nooks and crannies in the gardens contain ever-evolving groups of children eating, finding shade or sun, talking and laughing. At 11:35 all the children gather with hats and sunscreen to walk as a group to one city park or another, that’s located a short distance from school. There, teachers oversee ~45 minutes of community-based group games or free play.

Is parent involvement a part of Fayette?

The most useful parent involvement is consistent, aware, respectful contact with the activities, homework, classwork, and social environment of the school. Students must feel that the work they do as well as the academic & social information they learn matters to their parents. Parents are welcome in the school at anytime. We encourage parents to visit enough to have a feel for what takes places during the day, as well as the ‘players’ involved. Specific classroom help from parents is anticipated during Parents’ Weeks, which occur before Thanksgiving and Spring Break both. Each child’s parents are expected to cover two hours of class time during those weeks. Parents teach classes on a variety of subjects, do art projects, build engaging projects, and bring in interesting guests. Our teachers use this time to prepare for the next term, while school parents enrich their understanding of each other and their child’s school community.

Do Fayette students have homework?

Homework happens every school night and on weekends for most students. Most assignments are periodic and predictable so that student and parent knows what and when work is expected. Establishing a trusting and productive homework ethic help in the long term. The levels of homework are age and individual appropriate.

Is Fayette a religious school?

Fayette is not affiliated with any religious organization. We hold the belief that many religious organizations and spiritual individuals have contributed to the essential human questions of “how did we get here; how should we behave toward each other; and what comes after death?”. These queries are so profound that no one belief system can give all people a complete answer. The Sermon on the Mount, the philosophy of Confucius, the teachings of the Dali Lama, and others are freely used in setting our moral compass. In particular the Big’s class discussions traditionally evolve toward asking the larger questions of our humanness and commonality of the world’s faiths. 

Does Fayette use textbooks and give grades?

We do not traditionally use textbooks as they are expensive, heavy and created to dazzle purchase committees; not to provide clear, up to date information to students. We have developed written course work for our students by preparing of papers on a variety of traditional topics; using them in classes, and returning to the computer to add new content whenever needed. We now have thousands of pages covering all subjects and the writing continues. For some subjects, such as math and grammar, individual pages are the best form. For others, mainly language classes and poetry, collections of pages created and refined over the years printed and bound at our local print shop are ideal.    

We do not give grades. We monitor each student’s progress and challenges in every subject, addressing individual needs on a daily basis. Labeling a child as an A student or a C- student is not something we wish to be part of. Our energies are better spent helping each young scholar grow in his/her own way and time.