Dear Burgundy families,

We are honored to partner with Burgundy parents in developing our students’ talents and best selves and growing their love of learning. Our graduates continue to thrive. They are in demand at outstanding high schools across the region and beyond, where they are known and recognized for their contributions. Our alumni are highly successful in high school and college and in life. We are proud that so many alumni credit Burgundy as the school that has made the greatest difference for them! Burgundy alumni are enriching their communities and making great contributions in the world. They are happy and fulfilled people. 

We recognize that your commitment to your child/ren’s elementary and middle school education is substantial and often requires real sacrifice; we also know that it is the most important future-looking investment you can make, and we trust that the value of this investment will manifest itself for many years to come!

Our program supports development of the whole child: the social and emotional, the intellectual, the creative and artistic, the physical and athletic. Accordingly, we remain dedicated to maintaining our distinctive Burgundy advantages including our unique Alexandria and West Virginia campuses, engaging, dynamic indoor and outdoor learning opportunities, our respectful culture and collaborative Burgundy community—and, most of all, our committed faculty and staff! 

Teachers, staff, and administrators are committed to research-based best practice and professional development. We are building on our core values and philosophy to ensure that our students’ learning and life experiences at Burgundy equip them to flourish in high school and college and to thrive as successful, happy, and fulfilled adults who are contributing and leading citizens.  

On January 25, 2020, Burgundy’s Board of Trustees approved a 3.75% tuition increase, which primarily supports improving faculty salaries. In support of working parents, we are continuing to discount extended day fees for all full-time Extended Day families with multiple children and for families who receive regular tuition financial aid.

Tuition for 2020-2021 will be as follows:

JK   $31,207
K $32,444
Grades 1-5 $33,936
Grades 6-8 $35,703

The budget we are creating reflects our commitment to an exceptional educational program that builds a foundation for students’ future academic and life successes. This budget maintains our low student-teacher ratios while supporting our efforts to retain and hire excellent teachers and to enroll a socio-economically diverse student body with financial aid for one in four families. The tuition increase allows us to improve faculty-staff salaries and to continue to offer solid benefits, along with excellent professional development. 

Burgundy remains an excellent value in its peer school group. We offer unique programs on two remarkable campuses. Cove trips and other field trips, books and materials, instrumental music, an impressive range of arts electives, sports, and most other activities at Burgundy all are covered by tuition and The Burgundy Fund with few or no additional fees aside from a per family annual capital maintenance fee. 

Furthermore, in order to keep a Burgundy education within reach for more of our region’s families, we depend on Auxiliary services revenue — particularly summer camp and facilities rentals — and the generosity of our philanthropic donors, especially those who participate in The Burgundy Fund, to sustain Burgundy’s operations because tuition alone does not cover the actual costs of running the school. Fundraising allows us to maintain the excellence of our educational program while keeping tuition lower than it might be otherwise. And we are maximizing facilities rentals and looking at new forms of revenue.

If you have a question about the budget, feel free to reach out to any of the three of us signing this letter, or to the Director of Finance and Operations Kathy Miller. 

Thank you for choosing Burgundy and continuing to entrust us with your children!

Respectfully,

Jeff Sindler, Head of School
Joanne Petty, President, Board of Trustees
Allen O’Neil, Treasurer, Board of Trustees

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