Admissions

APPLICATION PROCESS

We are excited to learn more about your family! If you wish to be considered for enrollment in the Fall 2026 and beyond, please  see below for the next steps:

  • First, join us for a Learning Tour!

  • Next, complete an online application via Ravenna Hub for each child and submit your application processing fee.

  • Schedule your 30-minute Parent/Guardian Chat via Zoom or in person.

  • After learning more about Cypress School through our tours, virtual chats, or current families, please submit a letter of intent communicating what about Cypress School resonates for your family.

In alignment with the San Francisco Preschool Directors Group, Cypress School, along with the many preschools in San Francisco and independent schools with pre or transitional kindergartens, decisions will be released mid-March.

Cypress School strives to create a rich, vibrant community.  We admit students of any race, color, religion, disability, and national or ethnic origin, and afford them all of the privileges, programs, and activities made available at the school.  It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, disability, national or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation in administration or its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, and other school-administered programs.  For admissions, we consider:

  • Gender and diversity balance within each class — including family structures, ethnicities, languages, socioeconomic ranges, cultures, learning styles, and much more

  • Child’s age and current developmental range of the class

  • Siblings of current families are given preference (though we cannot guarantee their acceptance)

  • Completion of all applicable steps in the application process.

age CUT-OFF

  • If your child is 2 years old by June 30, they will be considered for a 2 / 3-year-old class

  • If your child is 3 years old by June 30, they will be considered for a 3 / 4-year-old class

  • If your child is 4 years old by June 30, they will be considered for a 4 / 5-year-old class

Pre-K and TK-Age Children

Looking for another year of preschool before Kindergarten?  Cypress School’s approach balances inquiry and anti-biased, social constructivist teaching and learning with structured skill-building.  During this 4th year of preschool, our inquiry-focused curriculum places value on thinking, investigations, relationships, and theories of the young learner while amplifying the skills needed for reading, writing, and math processes.  Through rich, learner-centered experiences, it is our goal to cultivate curiosity, critical thinking, stewardship, social responsibility, and a lifelong love of learning.

SCHOOL DATES & HOURS

Dates for the 2025 / 2026 school year will be:

  • First Day:  August 19, 2025

  • Last Day:  July 15, 2026

Cypress School will open at 8:00 AM and close at 5:30 PM. 

TUITION RATES

Tuition for the 2025-2026 school year is $37,029.  All ages will be full day and full year, and tuition will be the same across all classes. We will share 2025/2026 tuition prior to sending letters of acceptance.

Cypress School uses the services of FACTS Tuition Management platform to offer three different payment options: 1) Pay in Full, 2) Semi-Annually, or 3) Nine Payments.  All initial tuition payments are due at the start of July.  At the time of enrollment, a non-refundable deposit is due (which is credited towards your tuition) along with the signed Membership Agreement.  Your enrollment spot is secured once both are received and processed.

Cypress School is committed to honoring economic diversity and is dedicated to making our school accessible to all families.  Through our Community Fund, our robust tuition assistance program, we are able to provide financial assistance to a broad range of families.

  • It is our goal that Cypress School be accessible to any and all Bay Area families interested in applying, and it is our hope that families will apply to Cypress School regardless of financial circumstances.  Learn more about our community demographics and data as well as more on our perspective around Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, + Belonging.

COMMUNITY FUND

  • Assistance is based on need, eligibility, and availability of funds.  Every year we seek to fund 100% percent of applicants.  Historically to date, on average 8 - 10% of the student body is supported by the Community Fund, with grants ranging from 32% - 87% of the cost of tuition.  Determining eligibility for the Community Fund is a simple process — submit an online form along with supporting paperwork to our third party administrator, FACTS Management.  FACTS keeps your information confidential, impartially analyzes the financial information families provide, and assesses a recommended family contribution for tuition.  Applying for the Community Fund has no bearing on acceptance to Cypress School.  Eligibility and Community Fund grants accompany Offer Letters in March of every year.

  • February 6, 2025 is the last date to submit your completed Online Application and all 2024 tax documents to FACTS for returning, sibling, and legacy families.  Please note that we require 2024 tax filings to determine eligibility.

TOURS

Through the admissions process at Cypress School, it is our goal to provide a multitude of windows into our program.  Learning Tours are required for applicants and are given several times a year between October and February. We offer these tours in-person during the school day to provide a glimpse into the community and an opportunity to see our teaching and learning in action.

Learning Tour Signup

Learning Tours for the 2025/2026 school year will be on the following dates:

  • October 1, 9 and 29

  • November 13 and 19

  • December 4

  • January 14 and 29

Please register for a learning tour on Ravenna. If the date you are hoping to attend is full, please join our waitlist.

If you have already submitted an application but have not attended a tour, DO NOT WORRY, your application will still be considered and should you be offered a spot, we will call you to schedule a separate tour.

Virtual Discussions

During the admissions process, we will offer virtual discussions to help families learn more about our program. These are optional and we recommend attending a Learning Tour first. Topics for 2025/2026 admissions will be:

  • November 7, 2024, 9-10:15 AM: Anti-Bias Curriculum at Cypress School

  • December 13, 2024, 9-10:15 AM: Inquiry-based Learning

  • January 9, 2025, 9-10:15 AM: The Five Senses of a Community: Influence, Usefulness, Belonging, Competence and Respect

  • February 6, 2025, 6-7 PM: Family Participation and Engagement

You can register for these discussions on Ravenna.

The Five Senses of a Community: Influence, Usefulness, Belonging, Competence, and Respect

This virtual talk will expand upon how, at CSSF, the 5 Senses are used as both lens and guide to ensure that each voice is heard, participation and engagement are taught, actualized, and learned through authentic and meaningful experiences

Inquiry-based Learning

This virtual talk will illuminate the process, the benefits, and the joy within learning and teaching through questions, not knowing and the knots in knowing. This is the MAGIC that is Cypress School!

Anti-Bias Curriculum at Cypress School 

To honor the child means to acknowledge, celebrate, and support the child’s relationships to people, to place, to thinking, and learning. This virtual talk will reveal the many ways in which all learning at CSSF is relationship-based.

Family Participation and Engagement

Come chat with Krissi and current CSSF families about the gifts of participation and engagement. Learn more about the Parents/Guardians Association, their committees and different ways to get involved at Cypress School. 

This chat will also be an opportunity to ask follow-up questions from your tour! 

FAQs

  • After you have learned more about Cypress School, you may complete an online application on Ravenna.

  • Through the admissions process at Cypress School, it is our goal to provide a multitude of windows into our program. Learning Tours are required for applicants and are given several times a year, offered during the school day.

    If you have already submitted an application but have not attended a tour, your application will still be considered and should you be offered a spot, we will call you to schedule a separate tour. Our information-sharing Learning Tours are in-person at the school.

    You can register for a tour on Ravenna.

  • Our age-cut offs for each class are as follows:

    • If your child is 2 years old by June 30, they will be considered for a 2 / 3-year-old class

    • If your child is 3 years old by June 30, they will be considered for a 3 / 4-year-old class

    • If your child is 4 years old by June 30, they will be considered for a 4 / 5-year-old class

  • 2 / 3 year-old classes: 12-14

    3 / 4 year-old classes: 16-18

    4 / 5 year-old classes: 18-22

  • For the 2025 / 2026 school year, Cypress School will open at 8:00 AM and close at 5:30 PM.

  • Each child will need a separate application for admission.

    Siblings of current students attending Cypress School receive top priority consideration, and there is not a guarantee of admission. 

  • Looking for another year of preschool before Kindergarten?  Cypress School’s approach balances inquiry and anti-biased, social constructivist teaching and learning with structured skill-building.  During this 4th year of preschool, our inquiry-focused curriculum places value on thinking, investigations, relationships, and theories of the young learner while amplifying the skills needed for reading, writing, and math processes.  Through rich, learner-centered experiences, it is our goal to cultivate curiosity, critical thinking, stewardship, social responsibility, and a lifelong love of learning.

  • By mid-February of each year, we will have a clearer picture of our wait pool for that September after we determine how many students are returning in the fall, and after we know how many siblings need spots. We will contact you if we are able to offer your family acceptance. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer any news about placement on the wait pool since there are a number of factors that go into building our classes.

  • In alignment with the San Francisco Preschool Directors Group, we along with the majority of preschools in San Francisco and independent schools with pre- or transitional kindergartens, will email letters of acceptance on March 12, 2025, for August 2025 entry.

    You will receive either an acceptance letter or a wait pool letter.  The March acceptance period is very fluid and families do get moved off the wait pool.  Please stay in touch with us if you would like to come out of the wait pool.  If your child does not receive an acceptance letter for the year that you have requested, they will remain in the wait pool (no additional application necessary). They will move to the next class level — unless you specify that you want your child removed from the pool or we are unable to get in touch with you for confirmation.


    If you have further questions about our admissions process, email is highly preferred: admissions@cowhollowschool.org — please add your child’s date of birth to all correspondence.  If you are unable to email, please call (415) 921-2328.  Thanks again for your interest in Cypress School!