Montessori School of Durham

Igniting passion and curiosity for lifelong learning

Admissions

An Early Childhood student works with a language material.

We understand that you have a lot of choices when it comes to finding the right educational environment for your child.  If you’re on this page, hopefully it means the information on our other pages appeals to your personal goals and philosophy and you’re ready to consider joining our community.  We want to make that process simple for you!  

On this page we share our application requirements and admissions calendar (so you can understand where you are in the cycle).  Don’t forget to look at our Tuition and Financial Aid page, and our online application is always available. Please give us a call (919-489-9045) or submit an inquiry to schedule an appointment to visit campus and observe a classroom in action!

MSD Admission Application

Application Requirements

A complete application has three components:

For Kindergarten & Elementary applicants, we also require:

  • The child’s student records and teacher assessment from current or former school(s)
  • An observation by a MSD teacher in your child’s current class or a meeting with your child, if possible.
    • In some cases, we may ask the student to visit for a day in our classroom.

Optional component:

  • A completed Financial Aid Application (see details on the Afford page)

Admissions Calendar for the 2025-26 School Year

beginning in late October 2024: Individual campus tour & observation appointments available (includes a meeting with our Head of School).

January 17, 2025: Application Deadline to be considered for first round of admissions (and financial aid)

Late February 2025: Families who applied by the January deadline will be notified about their acceptance. (When your child is admitted, you will receive access to a tuition contract along with admission materials. You will then have a deadline to secure your child's place by signing the contract and paying the Acceptance Fee. See Tuition and Financial Aid page for more information.)

After the initial offers are made, a space may become available for the upcoming school year, and new applications will continue to be accepted for our waiting pool.  Applicants will be admitted from the waiting pool to balance each class.

Deadlines to submit complete Financial Aid application:

January 13, 2025: Current families

January 17, 2025: Prospective families wishing to be considered in the first round of admissions

 

Later financial aid applications can be accepted with later admissions applications. Any remaining funds will be awarded to those who qualify as admission is offered to the applicant.