Every fall, new families enter your school. Many of them have had little to no experience with a private-independent school—either as a student or as a parent. For these parents, the admission process can appear to be a series of multiple, unusual, and unexpected steps to gain admittance for their child. After all, for a public school, usually the family’s only schooling experience, it is just a formality—call the school in the spring and let them know your child will be attending the coming year. Add to the process the challenge of absorbing all the other costs that are associated with being part of an independent school—annual fund, extra fees for trips, T-shirts, Parent Association dues, etc. Often the first few fees will slip by without comment by the family. (New parents are still in the “honeymoon” phase with the school and tend to accept the earliest fees.) Then, sometime in October, the annual fund appeal arrives. This is usually when the new family begins to become agitated.