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Inclusion & Equal Access

North Star welcomes all families of every race, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, ethnicity, religion, creed, nationality, immigration status, and socio-economic class.

We are monitoring changes in the local situation regarding COVID-19 protocols. To read our protocols and policies, click here. All new members must be fully vaccinated. Contact us for medical exemptions.

Forms

North Star admits new members throughout the year. Yesterday could be your last day of school.

Here are the four required enrollment forms for 2023-24:

To be completed by parent/guardian:

To be completed by teen:

Membership fees

North Star has a Sliding Fee Scale of $9,500 - $3,600 per year.

No one is turned away because of being unable to pay our fees. Please see below.

All Memberships Include

  • Advisory Relationship with North Star Core Staff Member

  • Beginning, Middle, and End-of-the-Year Family Meetings with North Star Staff

  • Development of a family homeschooling plan and a personal life plan

  • Group Classes in person and online with the North Star community

  • Group Classes online with the Liberated Learners network

  • One-on-One Meetings or Tutorials with North Star Staff, in person and/or online

  • Use of North Star space for socializing and studying

  • Invitations to all trips and special workshops

  • Support to design and complete private academic projects and curricula

  • Support to find volunteer work, jobs, and internships outside of North Star

  • Support to find classes and activities with community-based programs outside of North Star

  • Long-term support for teen and parents from North Star staff when teen becomes an alum

Payment and Fee Reductions

We recognize that each family has different financial resources and different expectations for how North Star will fit into their family’s life. North Star’s budget priorities include paying professional wages, balancing our budget, and being 100% inclusive to all interested families.

All payments within our sliding scale are considered full payments (i.e. not requiring Fee Reduction). Families that cannot afford at least $3,600 annually are encouraged to request a Fee Reduction.

If you are able to pay any amount above the $9,500 annual tuition, you are increasing our ability to keep our programs accessible to all interested families, regardless of their financial circumstances. Thank you for this support!

All tuition levels can be paid in a single installment, two installments, or monthly installments.

No one is turned away because of being unable to pay our fees. Email Ellen with any fee questions, including to request a Fee Reduction.

Distance membership

North Star makes school optional for all interested teens. The core services we provide are one-on-one advisories with caring adults; a community of peers; family support; and a range of classes, tutorials, and activities. We offer distance memberships to teens who cannot be in the North Star building in person for distance or other reasons.

    • Teens aged 13–18 and their families who are seeking an alternative to school, but find independent homeschooling unappealing or daunting

    • Teens aged 13–18 and their families who are homeschooling and seeking more support, community, and activities

    • Young people aged 12 or 19 in the above groups on a case-by-case basis

    • Homeschooling families seeking one class or one tutorial. North Star is interested in working with teens and families in a personal and connected manner. Families seeking just one class or one tutorial should utilize other service providers.

    • Teens unwilling or unlikely to participate in Zoom offerings. Our offerings are live, real-time classes and one-on-ones, and we prefer that students use their video and audio as much as possible.

    • Teens unwilling to have an advisory relationship with a North Star staff member.

  • Standard North Star services:

    • Development of a family homeschooling plan and a personal life plan (intake meeting with Executive Director, Kenneth Danford)

    • An Advisory Relationship with a North Star Core Staff Member, meeting weekly to discuss a teen’s activities, plans, and progress both in the North Star realm and more generally in life.

    • Beginning, middle, and end-of-the-year Family Meetings with your North Star Advisor

    • Group Classes that are presented online with the North Star community (see calendar)

    • Group Classes online within the Liberated Learners network (see calendar)

    • One-on-One Meetings or Tutorials with North Star Staff, online (to the best of our abilities)

    • Invitations to all trips and special workshops (as possible for Distance Members)

    • Support to design and complete private academic projects and curricula

    • Support to find volunteer work, jobs, and internships outside of North Star (to the best of our ability from where we live)

    • Support to find classes and activities with community-based programs outside of North Star (to the best of our ability from where we live)

    • Support with the transition to college, work, and other experiences after North Star

    • Long-term support for teen and parents from North Star staff when your Distance Membership program ends

  • Distance Members pay the same sliding-scale fee as Local Members.

  • North Star is committed to making North Star available to all interested families. Members unable to pay within the sliding scale should reach out to our Fee Reductions Administrator, Ellen Morbyrne. Since our founding in 1996, we have welcomed all families, regardless of their ability to pay.

  • North Star will welcome up to ten Distance Members on a first-come, first-serve basis. We will generate a waiting list if more than ten students request Distance Membership.

    1. Email ken@northstarteens.org

    2. Set up a video conversation with North Star Executive Director Kenneth Danford

    3. Complete North Star Registration Forms at the top of this page