Welcome to Eastside Prep!
At Eastside Prep (EPS), we inspire students to create a better world through Critical Thinking, Responsible Action, Compassionate Leadership, and Wise Innovation.
We are excited to share how our mission above is woven into everything we do at EPS, whether you are exploring information on the website or attending an Admissions event.
EPS – An Introduction:
This PDF guide will help you get to know EPS. It includes:
- Fast Facts
- Curriculum Information
- Student Life: Clubs, Sports, Activities
- College Counseling
- Alumni Stories
Virtual Video Tour
Alumni Stories
Hear how a couple of EPS alumni are living the TALI Mission after EPS.
Max Sheffield, Class of 2014
Cameron Greenberg, Class of 2012
Visit our Alumni News page to hear what other EPS students are up to after graduating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Applications for admission are completed online through Ravenna Hub and families should complete all student and parent/guardian forms on or prior to January 12, 2023. Materials that families request from others should be requested on or before that date.
5th Grade – 36 newly enrolling students
6th Grade – 18 newly enrolling students (36 returning students)
9th Grade – Approximately 35-40 newly enrolling 9th graders and 50 returning students
6th Grade – 18 newly enrolling students (36 returning students)
9th Grade – Approximately 35-40 newly enrolling 9th graders and 50 returning students
Students are welcome to apply for 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th grade, though admission to these grades is based on attrition of currently enrolled students and is uncommon.
- Applications open in Ravenna on September 1, 2022
- Application Deadline is January 12, 2023
- Financial Aid Application Deadline for Existing EPS Families is December 5, 2022
- Financial Aid Application Deadline for Prospective Families is February 2, 2023
- Upper School Decisions communicated on February 24, 2023, at Noon, via Ravenna
- Upper School Family Responses due to EPS on March 3, 2023
- Middle School Decisions communicated on March 17, 2023, at Noon, via Ravenna
- Middle School Family Responses due to EPS on March 24, 2023
EPS has a truly independent curriculum and does not offer AP or IB classes. To quote our Head of School, Dr. Terry Macaluso:” Sometimes people wonder why we don’t offer AP classes. First, AP classes are offered in public schools, so there’s no need to pay independent school tuition if AP is a priority. The primary reason we don’t offer AP is because it flies in the face of our mission. AP classes are survey classes. They aim to cover as much of the waterfront as possible. EPS is interested in the opposite; our program is designed to go deep, to explore fewer concepts and ideas, but to do so in a way that achieves genuine understanding. For students to be able to practice critical thinking, they must be guided to reach for the essence of an idea or set of data points.”
Please visit our College Counseling Testing page for more information.
We have many students who are a great fit for Eastside Prep whom we would like to offer them admission, yet we may lack sufficient available spaces in their grade of application. When this occurs, we will offer students and their families the opportunity to join our waitpool of candidates. Typically if we have the opportunity to offer admission to a waitpool applicant, it will happen within a week of decision notification. Sometimes, offers can come later in the year. We encourage these families to be in touch with us regarding their enrollment intentions.
In an effort to create the most equitable admissions process possible, reviewing siblings in the full context of their applicant peers, we are confident that we make the most informed, mission-centered decisions possible as an admissions committee. Currently enrolled families with siblings applying for admission should review the Sibling Admissions page on the Current Families section of the EPS website for more information.
Eastside Preparatory School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, disability, national or ethnic origin, or other legally protected status in admission of otherwise qualified students or in providing access to the rights, privileges, programs, or activities generally available to all students and their families, including educational policies, scholarship and other financial aid programs, or athletic, extra-curricular, and other school-administered programs and activities.
The largest portion of our annual operating budget (over 70%) goes to attracting and retaining the best teachers by compensating them well. Additionally, we have a campus that has grown as our student body has expanded and we continue to develop our facilities as needed. Eastside Prep’s tuition is comparable to that of other Seattle area independent schools, and, as is the case in all of our schools, tuition covers only a portion of actual operating costs each year. Independent schools make up that difference and fund programs like financial aid though generous voluntary annual giving. For more information, we invite you to visit the Giving page.
As is true for other independent schools in the Seattle area, tuition covers only a portion of actual operating costs each year at Eastside Prep. Together with tuition, the Annual Fund helps to support the programs and people that make Eastside Prep a unique and thriving community. Everything from faculty professional development to financial aid is supported by the Annual Fund. At Eastside Prep, we promise that there will not be an auction or walkathon or cookie sale to support the school! Our hope is that every EPS family will support the Annual Fund because each gift, no matter the size, helps make our vision and mission possible: To inspire students to create a better world through critical thinking, responsible action, compassionate leadership, and wise innovation.
Contributions to the Annual Fund and/or in support of any capital fundraising effort is welcome from currently enrolled families, past parents, alumni/ae, current and past grandparents, friends and community. EPS will not accept cash, property, or any item of value in exchange for consideration of a student application for admission. The admissions and donation processes are separate activities at EPS. Members of the Admissions Committee are not aware of any gifts that may have been made or pledged to the school. Please visit our Giving page for more information on the Annual Fund.
Our school day begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 3:00 p.m. Students have four, 70-minute class periods each day, along with ample time in the middle of the day for lunch and rotating activities such as class assemblies, advisory, clubs, and seminars.
Daily Office Hours are from 3:00-3:30 during which students can connect with teachers for any questions or needs they may have. Afterschool activities typically take place between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.
Afterschool activities typically take place between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.
After school supervision is available for all students who are on campus but not actively engaged in a team activity such as sports, theatre, or robotics. Supervision is available until 6:00 p.m. and is hosted in the Levinger-Poole Commons (LPC).
EPS Bus Service
Eastside Prep offers bus service to several locations around the Puget Sound region. EPS offers three bus routes. Buses arrive to campus at least 15 minutes prior to the start of classes and depart campus 15 minutes after the school day ends.
Eastside Prep offers bus service to several locations around the Puget Sound region. EPS offers three bus routes. Buses arrive to campus at least 15 minutes prior to the start of classes and depart campus 15 minutes after the school day ends.
EPS Carpool Map
All EPS families are included in the Carpool Map for help with coordinating shared rides to and from campus as well as other school activities. Families decide which contact information they wish to share with the community, or they can opt out of participation in the map.
Metro
With EPS located across the street from the South Kirkland Park and Ride, some of our students elect to take the King County Metro bus to and from school. More information on potential bus routes can be found on the King County Metro website:
Metro Trip Planner
Please visit the Transportation page for more detailed information.
To qualify as a domestic applicant, a student must have completed at least two years of school in the United States prior to their year of application and must demonstrate strong English proficiency. Applicants applying from other countries who have not previously attended school in the USA or an English immersion environments must demonstrate their English proficiency through the submission of TOEFL scores. For more information, please see our International Application guidelines.
EPS teachers support all students’ wide-ranging learning styles. Students with identified learning needs, as well as those for whom needs may be identified while attending EPS, are provided with a variety of modes of learning support. Accommodations (e.g. additional time for tests, or a separate testing space) are facilitated by Student Support Services for those with documented learning differences.
Additionally, student self-advocacy is encouraged and cultivated, particularly through our Guided Study Hall (GSH) program. GSH meets as frequently as other courses in a schedule (2-3 times per week for 70 minutes) and provides a 4:1 student to faculty environment in which learning strategies and executive functioning skills are cultivated.
Our focus on student well-being centers on students feeling safe and supported at EPS. In addition to ensuring students physical safety, we also attend to their social and emotional safety needs.
- Regular drills for unforeseen incidents help us to ensure that we can always be prepared in any event.
- Safety and security discussions occur in advisory groups; as a preparatory school, we help students to prepare for many potential situations they will encounter in their lives.
- Security personnel coverage both during the school day and after hours helps us to bring specialized support in addition to the vigilance of all school employees.
- Three full-time school counselors help to ensure that experiencing social and emotional safety is an aspect in which all students are supported.
- All employees, as well as substitute teaching staff and volunteers who will not be directly supervised while on campus, have gone through background checks prior to their engagement with our school community.
- Key fob access for entry doors on an auto-locking schedule helps us to reduce risk by limiting entry points to campus buildings.
It’s not just your student beginning at Eastside Prep—you’re joining a new school community too! Our goal is to make sure you feel as connected and engaged with Eastside Prep as your student. We partner with you through regular communication, volunteer opportunities, and events. These events include our new parent welcome evening, grade level picnics, parent coffees, celebratory events for parents, and parent-teacher advisory conferences. Many parents also choose to volunteer at EPS through our Parent Association. Opportunities include serving as a grade level parent representative, contributing to events such as our faculty-staff appreciation days, and assisting with our athletic teams. We’re happy for parents and guardians to be as involved as their interests and schedules allow. While volunteer opportunities are offered, they are not required.
In addition to sharing campus spaces such as our cafeteria, gymnasium, and arts classrooms, Middle and Upper School students interact regularly both during and after school. Each Middle School advisory group is paired with two to three Peer Mentors from the Upper School, joining them on a regular basis to help lead discussions and activities. Classes collaborate on academic projects, for example, our 7th and 11th graders created historical maps together, and our 6th and 10th graders worked on science labs and presentation skills together. Opportunities for these collaborations vary from year to year. Each year, EPS produces an all-school musical in which all grade levels participate on stage and behind the scenes. Many of our musical ensembles feature a mixture of student grades as well. Additionally, Upper School students assist as leaders in many Middle School sports teams.