Tuition
A Watershed education is an investment in…
A child who loves coming to school every day, a young person developing a strong sense of self, and a graduate prepared to take on the world's greatest challenges.
2025 - 2026 COMPREHENSIVE tuition
Middle School (6th - 8th Grade): $36,400
High School (9th - 12th Grade): $38,550
What is Comprehensive Tuition?
Comprehensive tuition includes all academic and advisory programs at Watershed School, course books and other materials, all experiential programs and expenses, costs of all domestic and/or international trips (including airfare), course transportation and vehicle costs, developing and maintaining exceptional staff (including training in experiential learning and fieldwork), personalized college counseling, and providing ongoing on and off campus opportunities and events throughout the school year.
Not Included:
Personal school supplies (i.e. notebooks, binders, writing implements etc.)
Some materials for specific courses like art, science courses
Personal supplies for orientation trips like backpack, sleeping bag, water bottle, etc,.
Personal laptop
AFFORDING A WATERSHED EDUCATION
Many families need assistance in order to make it possible to invest in a Watershed education. While we expect all families to contribute to the cost of our program, roughly 20-25% of Watershed families benefit from Tuition Assistance to help bridge the gap. If financial concerns are a barrier to your application, we encourage you to apply for Tuition Assistance.
how to apply for tuition assistance
Watershed School’s tuition assistance program is designed to make a watershed education possible for all families based on demonstrated financial need and the availability of funds. watershed is proud to use Clarity Financial Aid to determine a family’s level of financial need based on the information that families share in the application which includes assets, income, expenses, and debts. The application is mobile-friendly and fully translated into Spanish.
Complete the following steps to apply:
Step 1
Go to https://app.clarityapp.com/sign-up
Step 2
Begin your application and add “Watershed School” to your student applicant entry. You can save your application and log out at any time and return later to complete it.
Step 3
Enter your financial information, review your application, and pay the $65 Clarity application fee.
Step 4
US taxpayers: Complete the Clarity Enhanced Tax Verification (ETV) process to release your W2 and personal tax return transcripts from the IRS. You'll be asked to authorize the sharing of your tax transcripts and verify your identity. This is a one-time security measure required by the IRS to protect against identity theft and the compromise of personal information. Only those filing US taxes will be prompted to complete this step. Clarity offers two options for enhanced tax verification process: “Clarity” and “IRS”. Please reference the Tax Verification Guide to preview the steps of this process.
Step 5
Submit your Clarity application and follow the link to return to your dashboard. Here you will see any additional supporting documents requested by schools. Non-U.S. tax filers may be prompted to upload income verification and other necessary documentation. Keep in mind that at a later date, you may be prompted by the school via Clarity to upload additional documentation as needed.
Note: International families will be prompted to upload income verification in the forms of a paystub or employment letter stating salary, and a copy of a tax documents from their country, as applicable. Please provide these with English translation.
Clarity Support
If you need support during the process of completing your application, there is in-app, phone and email support available through the “Help” button in the bottom left of the screen. Additional resources:
Family Application Webinars by Clarity
Webinars are open to all families, schools may want to update the times shown to reflect the time zone of their families.
other forms of financial assistance
Colorado's 529 plan
CollegeInvest can be used to pay for secondary school tuition. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 allows families to use 529 plans to pay up to $10,000 per year per beneficiary for private, public, or religious elementary and secondary school tuition.
However, any use of 529 plan funds for expenses other than qualified higher education is considered a non-qualified withdrawal and may be subject to penalties.
Educational Loans
Sallie Mae – the nation’s leading provider of private student loans – offers loans to families pursuing financial aid options. Please visit the Sallie Mae K-12 Family Education Loan website to learn more about Sallie Mae educational loans. The Watershed School code is 607491.
HAVE QUESTIONS?
Contact: Tracy Halgren, Director of Operations
Email: tracy.halgren@watershedschool.org
