AGES. Opal Beginning School is for children ages 3-5. Children must be 3 years old by September 1, 2020 to be eligible for enrollment. Children must be able use the toilet independently (no diapers or pullups).

APPLICATION. To complete your application (attached), be sure to include a $25 nonrefundable application fee (waived for current students). Please make checks payable to: Portland Children’s Museum and mail to
Opal School
4015 SW Canyon Rd
Portland OR 97221
Write “Opal Beginning School Application” in the memo line with your student’s name.

ENROLLMENT. Enrollment notification (via email) begins March 16, 2020.

ANNUAL TUITION. The annual tuition for 2020-21 is $9,900 and is due even if you withdraw before June 2021. As a convenience to our families, you may make 8 monthly payments of $990, with the first payment due by July 5. Your deposit will be applied after all payments are received.

DEPOSIT. To secure your child’s placement, a non-refundable deposit of $1,980 is due 10 days after enrollment is offered. If we do not receive your deposit within 10 days, we will offer enrollment to another child in the wait-pool.

SCHOOL YEAR SCHEDULE/CALENDAR. Opal Beginning School has two classrooms, Cedar and Alder, which operate from September to June. The regular school day starts at 8:30am and ends at 1:30pm, Monday through Friday. AfterCare is offered, for an additional fee, until 5pm each day that school is in session. The school calendar is distributed with the Family Handbook in August. In general, we follow the Portland Public Schools calendar.

CLASS SIZES. The Cedar community has 17 children and 2 teachers; the Alder community has 20 children and 2 teachers.

AFTERCARE. Our licensed AfterCare program is offered, for an additional fee, until 5pm each day that school is in session. Enrollment is limited to 10 children. Registration forms will be available in August.

PLEASE NOTE: Opal Beginning School (for ages 3-5) and Opal Charter School (for grades K-5) share the same educational philosophy, however the enrollment process is very different. Applications for Opal Beginning School, a private early childhood program, are available beginning February 1. For Opal Charter School, a public charter elementary school, each student must apply through the lottery as required by law. To be eligible for the lottery, a student must be age 5 (for Kindergarten) by September 1.
Enrollment in Opal Beginning School does not lead to enrollment in Opal Charter School.

QUESTIONS. Please direct any questions to the School Office at office@opalschool.org.

This application is also available online as an online form at http://www.portlandcm.org/opalschool.
After you read to the bottom of that webpage, follow the link for Opal Beginning School and the
application.