Open Window School

Tour planning: 2027–28 school-tour schedule

Tuition and admission: cross-school comparison and checklist

At a glance

Summary

Open Window is fundamentally different from Cedar Trails and Grand Ridge. It is a tuition-funded K–8 school designed for children of high intellectual potential, with specialized gifted instruction, small classes and an extensive program in technology, arts, Spanish and social-emotional learning. It should be treated as a conditional option: first determine whether a prospective student's learning profile matches the program, then evaluate the classroom environment, cost and commute.

Enrollment and staffing

The published ratio is schoolwide and does not establish kindergarten homeroom size or the number of adults assigned to each kindergarten class. Ask for both figures during the tour.

Curriculum

Open Window emphasizes depth, inquiry, creative problem-solving, authentic work and intellectual risk-taking. The school does not publish a detailed kindergarten scope-and-sequence comparable to Issaquah's subject-by-subject learning progression.

Downloaded academic resources

• Open Window curriculum and admissions research

Academic progress tracking

The public website states that teachers continually assess students' skills and knowledge and advance them or provide support as needed. However, no public sample report card, grading scale, assessment calendar or schoolwide outcome dataset was found.

Before deciding, request:

• A sample kindergarten report card.
• The schedule for conferences and written reports.
• The names and frequency of reading and math assessments.
• Examples of how kindergarten work is differentiated above grade level.
• Information about learning-support staffing and intervention processes.

Unlike public schools, Open Window does not publish directly comparable OSPI school assessment results. This makes classroom observation and documentation from the school especially important.

Kindergarten experience

• School hours are 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m.
• Average schoolwide class size is 18; kindergarten-specific size and staffing must be confirmed.
• Primary-grade Spanish uses stories, movement, music and play.
• Kindergarten and first-grade drama emphasizes imaginative adventures, problem-solving and introductory performance skills.
• Computer science begins in kindergarten.
• Explicit social-emotional instruction includes emotions, self-regulation, relationships, problem-solving and resilience.
• The amount of choice time, outdoor play, recess and unstructured play is not clearly published and should be examined closely.

Admissions

The 2027–28 application opens in September 2026 through Aryval. The current tuition page lists an admissions deadline of January 14, 2027; the exact opening day, applicant-visit dates and decision date have not yet been posted.

Required elements

1. Create or use an Aryval account and register for a required parent tour.
2. Arrange an individual IQ assessment with a licensed psychologist.
3. Submit the application and parent narrative.
4. Request online evaluations from a prospective student's current preschool teacher and school administrator.
5. Request that the applicant's preschool send the current-year progress report directly; prior-year records and standardized achievement tests are not ordinary kindergarten requirements.
6. Attend the lower-school applicant visit, normally held on a Saturday in late January or early February.
7. Apply separately for tuition assistance by its deadline, if needed.

Cognitive assessment

• Most kindergarten applicants use the WPPSI-IV; confirm the age-appropriate instrument with the school and evaluator.
• Open Window says children who thrive in its program typically score around 125, approximately the 95th percentile or higher, while also stating that it does not publish a strict cutoff.
• The school considers readiness, language, academic strengths, motivation, curiosity, social intelligence, resilience and creative thinking in addition to the test.
• Open Window recommends completing testing in June–August before applying or by mid-November.
• The child should not be coached or exposed to test items. The school warns that preparation may invalidate results, and the same assessment cannot be repeated for one year.
• The school recommends waiting until at least age four for a more dependable assessment and cautions that results for multilingual young children may not fully represent their abilities.

Open Window's exact kindergarten birthday policy should be confirmed because it is not published on the website.

Tuition and financial assistance

The school says current assistance awards range from 4% to 93% and every aided family is expected to contribute something. The award percentage also applies to transportation and enrichment, and aided families receive a 50% after-school discount; lunch is excluded. Tuition should be updated when the 2027–28 application opens.

Culture and community

Verified information

• The mission is to nurture and inspire students of high intellectual potential.
• The stated philosophy is that students are children first and gifted second.
• Core themes include authentic work, love of learning, social-emotional support and community.
• The school reports approximately 75 annual K–8 partnerships and field trips and ten theatrical or musical productions.
• It states that lead teachers are experienced in working with gifted students and that faculty development is supported annually.

Visit observations

• No family tour, student visit or firsthand parent conversation recorded yet.

Programs and student support

• Gifted-specialized instruction across subjects.
• Explicit SEL in the lower school, including executive-function and mindfulness topics.
• School counselor listed on the SEL program page.
• Visual art, drama and music for all students.
• Spanish beginning in lower school.
• Two innovation and technology labs with computer science, robotics and maker tools.
• Library/information-literacy instruction beginning in kindergarten.
• The extent of special education, speech-language, occupational therapy, dyslexia intervention and formal accommodation services is not clear from public materials and should be asked directly.

Logistics

• Location: Lakemont/Cougar Mountain, between Bellevue and Issaquah.
• Distance and rush-hour travel time from home: To be measured.
• School hours: 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m.
• Morning programs: 7:30–8:20 a.m., additional fee.
• Afternoon care and enrichment: 3:30–6:00 p.m., additional fee.
• Transportation: Commuter-style private bus routes with designated arterial stops; exact Issaquah stops, timing and cost need confirmation.
• Neighborhood connection: Unlike a boundary public school, classmates may live throughout the region.

Fit considerations

Possible strengths

• Specialized environment if a prospective student demonstrates a gifted learning profile and needs substantially greater depth or pace than a standard classroom provides.
• Small average class size and low published student/teacher ratio.
• Peer group likely to normalize intense curiosity and unusual interests.
• Strong technology, arts, Spanish and inquiry-science offerings beginning early.
• Explicit attention to the social-emotional characteristics of gifted children.
• K–8 continuity avoids a school transition after fifth grade.

Possible concerns

• Admission depends on an assessment and holistic selection process; acceptance is not guaranteed.
• Published 2026–27 lower-school tuition is $42,880 and will likely be higher by 2027–28.
• Bus, care and extracurricular costs are additional.
• A high-intensity academic peer environment may not suit every bright or curious child.
• Less neighborhood-based than Cedar Trails or Grand Ridge.
• Publicly comparable outcome, class-detail and progress-reporting information is limited.
• The school's capacity to support learning disabilities or twice-exceptional students needs direct investigation.

Information needed before deciding

• Whether a prospective student's observed learning needs justify a gifted-specialized school.
• WPPSI-IV results interpreted by a qualified psychologist, without coaching.
• Kindergarten-specific class size, adult staffing and daily schedule.
• Amount of outdoor play, recess and child-directed activity.
• Sample progress report and differentiation examples.
• 2027–28 tuition, aid estimate, bus stops and total family cost.
• A prospective student's response to the applicant visit and classroom environment.

Visit notes

No visit recorded yet.

Questions for the school

• What does a full kindergarten day look like, including recess, outdoor time and child-directed play?
• How many children and adults are in each kindergarten classroom?
• Can you share a blank kindergarten report card and assessment calendar?
• How do you determine when a kindergartener should accelerate versus deepen learning at the current level?
• How do you support perfectionism, anxiety, uneven development or sensory needs?
• What support can you provide for twice-exceptional students?
• How much homework, if any, is assigned in kindergarten through second grade?
• What were the Issaquah-area bus stops and ride times this year?
• What is the expected total 2027–28 cost after tuition, transportation and care?
• What is your exact kindergarten birthday cutoff?

Decision notes

• Current status: Researching; application opens in September 2026 and is due 2027-01-14
• Overall assessment: Worth investigating only if a prospective student shows a strong need for gifted-specialized instruction
• Confidence: Low until testing, tour, daily schedule, support model and cost are known
• Next action: Register in Aryval when the September 2026 cycle opens, book the required tour, and consider an uncoached WPPSI-IV with a licensed psychologist

Sources

• Open Window home page — accessed 2026-08-22
• Fast facts — accessed 2026-08-22
• Programs overview — accessed 2026-08-22
• Mathematics — accessed 2026-08-22
• Language arts — accessed 2026-08-22
• Science — accessed 2026-08-22
• Social-emotional learning — accessed 2026-08-22
• Innovation and technology — accessed 2026-08-22
• Arts — accessed 2026-08-22
• How to apply — accessed 2026-08-22
• Required testing — accessed 2026-08-22
• Tuition and assistance — accessed 2026-08-22
• Transportation — accessed 2026-08-22
• After-school programs — accessed 2026-08-22

Change log

• 2026-09-10: Clarified that the Washington public-school ranking does not apply to private schools.
• 2026-08-22: Reverified the live redesigned site: Aryval replaces Ravenna, the fee is $70, teacher and administrator evaluations are required, and January 14 is the admissions deadline.
• 2026-08-22: Updated 2026–27 tuition to $42,880 for K–4 and $48,070 for grades 5–8; the official live page now confirms the figures supplied by the family.
• 2026-08-22: Initial profile and curriculum/admissions research created.