Foundry Cottage School
Shaping learners of courage, curiosity, and conviction
About Foundry Cottage School
Why Parent-Led?
Foundry Cottage School embraces a parent-led model because it fosters a strong, interconnected community where both children and parents thrive. When parents take on the role of teachers, they build meaningful relationships not only with their own children but also with their children’s friends and peers. This creates a web of trusted, familiar adults that children recognize not just as teachers, but as part of their extended community.
As a result, a deeper sense of trust and belonging naturally develops, strengthening bonds among families. Additionally, this collaborative approach helps reduce program costs, making Foundry Cottage School more accessible while enriching the educational experience with diverse talents and perspectives from within the community.
Classroom Structure
Students will be placed into classes based on classroom readiness, which includes the combination of maturity, scholastic ability, classroom behavior, engagement, and age. The final classroom breakdown will be finalized once we confirm the number of students enrolled for the fall term. This will be the general guideline:
- Nursery & Preschool: Birth – 5 years old
- Form 1:Year 1 – Year 3 (roughly 6–8 years old)
- Form 2:Year 4 – Year 6 (roughly 9–11 years old)
- Form 3:Year 7 – Year 9 (roughly 12–14 years old)*
- Form 4:Year 10 – Year 12 (roughly 15–18 years old)*
*For the 25/26 school year, we had students enrolled through the 9th grade. Our long-term vision is to keep adding grades as our students age up, in a “grow with me” model. We believe that part of fostering a strong, solid community is being a place that invests in the whole family, so we never want families to have to leave because one of their kids “ages out” of co-op.
Sample Schedule
Here is a sample schedule for a Form 1 or Form 2 class (classes vary from term to term):
Gathering Time
Hymn and/or Folksong
Block 1
Literature/Shakespeare, Nature Study, Geography
Block 2
Spanish, Art & Music Study, Handicraft/Fine Art
Gathering Time
Folkdance
Form 3 and Form 4 will still engage with several of the enrichment studies listed above, but we will also include a few academic subjects conducive to group learning. High school students will have the opportunity to receive high school credits.
- Citizenship/Economics
- Science: Earth/Space Science, Life Science, Chemistry, Physics
- Life & Work Skills
- Personal Finance (Form 4)
Program Costs
We prioritize keeping costs low for co-op participants. One way we do this is by operating as a parent-led program; parents volunteer to share the responsibilities of teaching, organizing, and nursery care.
The base enrollment fee is $150 per family to cover the shared insurance and facility costs, but the estimated total cost depends on how many children you have and which forms they are in. The approximate costs per form are estimated to be:
- Nursery: $60
- Form 1: $150
- Form 2: $150
- Form 3: $180
- Form 4: $180
The final cost will depend on the total number of families enrolled and the supplies needed for the classes taught. Program fees are collected at the beginning of the school year and cover:
Insurance
Liability insurance costs will be divided equally between all enrolled families.
Facility
We rent space at a local church. The facility rental costs will be divided equally between all enrolled families.
Supplies
Some classes, such as Science, Fine Art/Handicraft, or Artist Study, require extra supplies. Teachers are encouraged to keep material needs to a minimum.
Our Philosophy
“I am. I can. I ought. I will.”
Charlotte Mason & Education
At Foundry Cottage School, we use Charlotte Mason-style learning to cover our enrichment subjects. Charlotte Mason was a British educator in the 19th century who regained popularity after Susan Schaeffer Macaulay’s book For the Children’s Sakein the 1980s. Her life’s work and philosophy can be summarized in her 20 Principles. For a greater understanding of her philosophy, it is best to read Charlotte Mason’s own words in her six volumes.
Three of Ms. Mason’s key beliefs about education, which we firmly agree with, are:
- A child is a person, and we must educate the whole person, not just their mind.
- Children do not need watered-down ideas. They are capable of making sense of information and ideas.
- Time outdoors and a knowledge of the natural world are an important part of a child’s education.
Foundry Cottage School, though heavily influenced by Charlotte Mason and her ideas, does not require you to adhere to following her methods in your homeschool. Our philosophy of education will have direct implications for our methods. We believe Charlotte Mason’s philosophies and methods fulfill a holistic view of what a person is and why they learn.
Faith & Foundation
Foundry Cottage School is rooted in a Christian worldview. We believe education is more than academics - it is the formation of the whole person, created in the image of God. Our faith shapes how we approach learning, community, and the care of every child entrusted to us.
Statement of Faith
Our Statement of Faith for Foundry Cottage School reflects only the fundamental beliefs of Christianity. For theology beyond what is reflected here, we direct our participants to their own churches’ statements of faith and the Bible. We are also happy to dialogue about any questions parents might have.
Families are welcomed to our co-op who hold to traditional Christian orthodoxy, submit to the Bible as the inerrant, in the original manuscripts, and authoritative Word of God, and agree with each of these statements of faith:
- Nicene Creed
- Apostles’ Creed