Enrolling at Wild Pear starts with getting to know each other, not paperwork. Below you'll find everything you need in one place: our hours and school year calendar, current tuition rates, and a full walkthrough of the enrollment process from your first tour to your child's first day. We don't enroll on a first-come-first-served basis, so there's no need to rush; we take time to build small, well-balanced classroom cohorts and are happy to answer questions along the way. If anything below is unclear, just reach out and we'll walk you through it.
From getting to know us to your child's first day of care, here's what the enrollment process looks like.
It's important to feel comfortable with where your child is receiving care — read about our approach to food, outside time, and emotionally cognizant care.
Learn moreCome visit us and see if we resonate with what you have in mind for your child's care. Meet our teachers, see the classrooms and yard, and let us meet your child too.
Learn moreAfter the tour, you'll be given a password to complete the paperwork online. A $500 deposit holds your slot, and children are enrolled based on age as of September 1st.
Learn moreWild Pear offers childcare for up to 16 children, ages 1-5 years old, during the school year. We are open Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 5:30pm.
Our school year typically begins in early September on the Thursday after Labor Day and runs until mid-June. During this time we are closed for two weeks of winter break, one week of spring break, along with two family conference days, two inservice days, and all major holidays. A calendar of specific closure dates is given to families when they enroll and can be found in our family handbook.
During the school year, tuition is paid for 9.5 months and is due on the 15th of the month before care is given. Families pay to reserve their slot for the upcoming month, and tuition remains the same regardless of attendance changes due to illness, vacations, holidays, or school closures.
We encourage everyone to pay online through Zelle by tagging our email address. (It may show up as Wild Primrose Preschool, that's still us!) We also accept personal checks and cashier's checks, which can be placed in the check box.
Tuition rates include meals, snacks, and sunscreen for all children, along with diapers, wipes, and diaper cream for children who need them.
We know childcare is expensive and we gladly welcome families enrolled in the ERDC program or who plan to pay for childcare using another government subsidy. If your family does not qualify for ERDC but you still struggle to afford tuition, we may be able to help you with a partial scholarship — please ask us for more information. Unfortunately, as we are located in Clackamas County, we are not eligible for Preschool For All.
| Schedule | Monthly Rate |
|---|---|
| Five days | $2,225 |
| Four days | $2,075 |
| Three days | $1,825 |
| Two days | $1,775 |
| Schedule | Monthly Rate |
|---|---|
| Five days | $1,725 |
| Four days | $1,575 |
| Three days | $1,425 |
| Two days | $1,275 |
Wild Pear does not enroll families without a tour. We want to show you around and be able to chat and answer any questions you may have. It's also very important for us to meet the child (or children) you are hoping to enroll in our program (with an exception, of course, for children yet to be born).
All families who have applied will be invited to come out and join one of multiple group tours offered in early spring (generally in the first few weekends of April). Typically, this is where we meet all the families that we end up enrolling for the upcoming school year. Should a slot become available mid-school-year, we will consider which family would be the best fit and reach out to them directly to schedule a tour. Because tours take significant time and energy, we are often unable to coordinate individual tours for families who are unable to make it to the group tours in spring.
Families wishing to enroll their child at Wild Pear can submit a simple application, which includes a completed Application for Enrollment and a non-refundable $20 fee. Applying for enrollment does not guarantee enrollment at a later date. It does, however, guarantee that the child will be invited for a tour and be considered for enrollment in open slots as they become available.
We do not enroll on a first-come-first-served basis. Instead, we have a goal to create well-balanced and diverse cohorts of children while striving to coordinate each family's preferred schedule. For this reason, we do ask that parents give us as much information as possible on their application form and notify us of any changes that come up. Since we can't possibly weigh and balance all the potential cohort variations until after we hold tours, we are unable to tell families the "odds" of them being accepted. Some families get invited to enroll right after applying, and for others it may take a few years.
We enroll children into cohorts based on how old they will be by September 1st. They will move through Wild Pear together with this cohort and eventually graduate and move to kindergarten at the same time. Our infant cohort might have 1-2 children who will all be 1 by September and turn 2 during the school year. Our toddler cohort will have between 2-4 children who will all be 2 by September and turn 3 during the school year. Our younger preschool cohort will have 5-6 children who will all be 3 by September and turn 4 during the school year, and the older preschool cohort will have 5-6 children who will all be 4 turning 5.
Typically, families are notified of their enrollment status by mid-May. Once offered a slot, families will need to choose to either enroll or pass. If they choose to pass, the slot will be offered to another family. In most cases, families will have up to one week to decide if they want the available slot. If they decide to enroll, they will need to pay a $500 non-refundable deposit, which will hold their slot until September 1st. $300 of the deposit will cover the annual enrollment fee, while $200 will be applied to September's tuition.
Enrolling in our summer camp works a little differently, since it's a seasonal program with its own cancellation timeline. See the summer camp cancellation policy for details on refund eligibility.
Anyone who does not get an offer to enroll will continue to be considered for any unexpected mid-year openings that arise, and will be invited to attend a group tour again the following spring.
We encourage everyone to pay online through Zelle by tagging our email address. (It may show up as Wild Primrose Preschool, that's still us!) We also accept personal checks and cashier's checks, which can be placed in the mail box.
We know that sometimes families may be willing to accept a slot that isn't totally ideal, or may need to change their enrollment schedule mid-school-year. Anytime a family wants to decrease the number of days they are enrolled, they will need to give 30 days' written notice and can shift to their new schedule after the 30 days is up. If a family wants to swap days or increase their enrollment, they need to send us an email right away, and their schedule request will be put on top of a list for consideration should anything shift mid-school-year.
When enrolling new students, priority is given to families with siblings who are currently enrolled at Wild Pear and/or alumni families. If you'd like to enroll a sibling, please fill out an Application Form and turn it in right away — no fee is required! If the sibling you'd like to enroll will be under 12 months in September, please know we may be able to make an exception for your family, so please ask.
Before enrolling in Wild Pear, come visit us and see if we resonate with what you have in mind for your child's care.