New Families:
• Create an account in Amilia.
• Amilia accounts are most easily set up from a computer, but it is possible using a phone or tablet.
• Select programs to register for or join the waitlist.
Login to Amilia to:
• Update your family information including medications and allergies.
• Check the programs you are enrolled in.
• View the program schedule.
Contact us if you have questions or difficulties using the registration system
Tuition
Hiring and retaining highly qualified and experienced mentors allows us to offer dynamic and individualized educational programming that meets each participant where they are. White Ash Learning tuition is primarily influenced by staffing costs and our low staff to participant ratio of 1:8. Unlike the majority of alternative educational programming, all White Ash mentors have multiple years of experience with both young people and working year round in an outdoor environment. We recognize that not all families have enough financial security to pay for educational programming, and we believe all children deserve unrestricted, free access to educational spaces.
We offer a multidimensional approach for managing tuition costs, including work trade and sliding scale, and we encourage you to reach out with questions!
Payment Methods
Work Trade, Barter, & Sliding Scale
Economics for a Regenerative Future
We invite you to join us in a commitment to investing in resilient economic systems that uplift the potential for exchanges that enrich all life.
Sliding Scale is in place to support families who experience barriers to wealth accumulation. This could include parents with physical, emotional, or mental challenges, single parent households, families who have been significantly affected financially by illness, or families who are facing systemic barriers to equal income opportunities. Evaluating our fundraising efforts, grant writing, tuition models, work trade and barter arrangements is a continually evolving process. Finding balance within our current economic and educational systems remaining an ongoing challenge that we are committed to creativity approaching. Read more about Work Trade and Sliding Scale in the tabs below.
Enrollment
Work Trade
Many families attending White Ash have valuable skills to contribute to the organization running smoothly. Much of our infrastructure and earthworks have been contributions from families that attend our programming. Contact us if you would like to explore work trade as an alternative to paying full tuition. Once we have identified how your family will contribute we will send you an agreement in writing. Work trade credits can be applied bi-weekly, monthly or seasonally, and can reduce or eliminate monthly payments and/or create account credits that can be used to register for future programs. All families, regardless of their financial situation are welcome to do work trade.
Sliding Scale
White Ash Learning utilizes a sliding scale model, a type of fee structure that accounts for variability in assets, income, and expenses as an attempt to increase accessibility for families with less financial and/or class privilege. We recognize there are social, physical, and material barriers to accessing this type of programming as well.
If neither the subsidized or scholarship rates are accessible, reach out and let us know what would make attending accessible for your family. We are committed to making programs accessible to anyone who is interested and continue fundraising efforts to increase our capacity to reach this goal.
This model allows self-selection of registration cost, and is intended for families who experience difficulty meeting basic needs.
Where do you fall on the tuition scale?
We believe that examining the intersection of privilege, wealth, and class is a lifelong process. The following questions are starting points for exploring these topics, and not a definite tool for evaluating privilege and wealth.
You might qualify to pay full tuition if some or all of these apply to you:
Own property.
Can afford to take time off or go on vacation.
Receive unearned or gifted income.
Have a retirement account or other investments.
Choose to work part time or not at all.
Make more than 75K per year.
Have little or no debt.
You might qualify to utilize the sliding scale if some or all of these apply to you:
Living paycheck to paycheck.
Struggle to pay minimum payments on debt.
Experience difficulty meeting basic needs like housing, food, and transportation.
Do not have savings.
Your ability to work or earn money is affected by illness, mental or physical disability.
Have to work more than 40 hours a week to make ends meet.
Read more about Sliding Scale: A Tool of Economic Justice.
Reciprocity
Reciprocity in economic systems fosters resilient networks of collaboration and support, where individual success builds collective well-being. While we cannot entirely move away from the current financial system, we continue to develop systems based on alternative forms of capital.
The following codes offer self-determined, honesty-based discounts up to 45% off tuition, and include a number of hours (or equivalent in trade) that we ask families to contribute per season you attend programs (fall, winter, spring, summer). Sliding Scale differs from work trade, as these hours do not correlate with a specific numerical value, and represent commitment of time and energy towards sustaining the operations of the organization.
If any aspect of the Sliding Scale is not accessible for your family, contact us to discuss alternative options and create a collaborative plan that fits your family’s circumstances. Apply one of the codes below at checkout to see the discount applied to your cart. Once your registration has been received, we will reach out to coordinate arrangements for barter or work trade.
What have families contributed?
Subsidized
Barter2 = 5% off | Reciprocity = 2 hours or equivalent
Barter3 = 10% off | Reciprocity = 3 hours or equivalent
Barter4 = 15% off | Reciprocity = 4 hours or equivalent
Barter5 = 20% off | Reciprocity = 5 hours or equivalent
Scholarship
Barter6 = 25% off | Reciprocity = 6 hours or equivalent
Barter7 = 30% off | Reciprocity = 7 hours or equivalent
Barter8 = 35% off | Reciprocity = 8 hours or equivalent
Barter9 = 40% off | Reciprocity = 9 hours or equivalent
Barter10 = 45% off | Reciprocity = 10 hours or equivalent
The Friday program has been great for our older children, giving them a greater sense of confidence and independence, and allowing them to experience things that they wouldn’t otherwise.
My 3 year old made leaps and bounds when it came to her personal space and the space of her friends during her first year. I regularly see her use phrases that I know her mentors have taught her to convey what she needs to other children her age.
We love the Deer Isle summer camp, the kids love camping out and attending the program during the day. This past summer they really enjoyed bringing a pot and a bunch of ramen and cooking lunch over the fire for everyone in the program!
Our grandson was able to make some really good friends and learn how to be social without having us around to cue him as to what to do.
Warren loved both weeks he did this summer with White Ash. He especially loved the Monroe location. We’ll be doing it again!!
The project based learning activities are amazing there is no traditional school that will teach him how to tan a deer hide or build a fire with just a flint and steel. He is not restricted to sitting at a desk and is allowed to explore his environment with guidance from his mentors.
Learning should be fun. Not all learn best in a classroom setting and white ash provides what the public school system lacks in this way.
My sons have been enjoying the program immensely. I hope you continue to offer it!
White Ash Learning has enabled my child to be in a social learning environment while not being confined to a classroom and allows her to focus on the things she loves.