Evergreen Country Day School is happy to announce it will be offering scholarships to students for the 2009-2010 school year. Realizing that the small class sizes, individualized attention, and resources that an independent school provides requires a substantial investment, ECDS has always provided tuition assistance to families based on need. Annually the school grants approximately $100,000 in tuition assistance to families. This year during our school's annual "Wish Upon a Star" fundraiser the school raised an additional $57,000 for the "Linda Morgan Scholarship Fund". This will greatly enhance the amount of tuition assistance that ECDS has available for its families and ensure that this educational option is even more accessible to families in the community.

The school is particularly excited this year to announce that it has partnered with a Denver foundation that supports scholarships for those families most in need. With this support the school will be able to offer 100% scholarships for 4-5 students for next year. These full scholarships would continue from year to year. Applications for partial tuition assistance can be made at any time, and many of our families currently take advantage of this program. However, full scholarships will need to be applied for prior to April 15.
Each year during the school's Wish Upon a Star fundraiser a "Direct Appeal" is held to raise money for a specific item. In the past money has been raised for a new playground, support of the arts, and to purchase a school bus. The goal for this year's direct appeal was to raise $50,000 in support of the "Linda Morgan Scholarship Fund." Members of the faculty, administration and board have never been more excited and proud of a school fundraising initiative as we are about the Linda Morgan Scholarship Fund. The success of the direct appeal was a testament to the commitment of the school families, the value they place on an ECDS education, and their desire to make this education more accessible to the greater community. In the process of raising $57,000 for the fund we accomplished two very important goals.

First, this allowed Evergreen Country Day School to honor Linda Morgan, Director of ECDS, from 1987-1997 and again from 2003-2005. Under Linda Morgan's leadership a school culture emerged that nurtured a love of learning and a spirit of kindness and respect for one another. In addition under Mrs. Morgan's direction the school grew from a preschool to include an elementary program. As the school's physical location and size changed, the culture created by Mrs. Morgan remained a constant. Further, the school is the place it is today because of Mrs. Linda Morgan's leadership and dedication over the years. Making this valuable education more accessible to all families in the community is a great way to honor her service to the school.

Second, this scholarship fund will allow the school to substantially increase the amount of tuition assistance the school annually awards to its families. Increasing the level of assistance available will allow the school to make a difference for additional families. In addition, it will benefit our current students by promoting a more diverse student body and increasing enrollment. This fund will live on through increased fundraising and proposals to foundations.

Evergreen Country Day School provides an independent school education to students in preschool through eighth grade. Evergreen Country Day School is accredited through the Association of Colorado Independent Schools (ACIS) and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).