Girl at laptop virtual schooling with teacher

The Global Division FAQ

Want to know more about what a day in the life of a Global Division student looks like? Watch this video:

Our Global Division schedule follows its own year round calendar, found here: https://labglobal.org/calendar/.

Our half-day program schedule is based on the needs of the children who are placed together in each small group/class. Students have 60 minutes of instruction in each subject area: reading, writing, and math. Direct, teacher-led instruction lasts for three hours per day and schedules are created in three-hour blocks of time.

The other part of your child’s day is spent at your child’s public, private, or home school. We are here to help you construct the other half of your child’s day if needed.  

Classes are formed based on academic needs, grade level, student personality, and specific scheduling needs (such as time zone). 

The online setting allows our teachers to create partnerships with families and other teachers that are collaborative, transparent, and mutually supportive. Our Global Division teachers are available to meet with our families as often as needed to ensure this program is effective and enjoyable for our students. You will always receive personalized attention.

Our online program is so successful because we understand not just what our students require academically but also what they need in terms of social-emotional learning. This is why our students are placed in a small group for the entire half day of classes.  Our students are able to take more academic risks because they develop trusting relationships with their peers and teachers. This enhances and accelerates their learning.

Our students also receive one-to-one attention in a online environment where classroom distractions are eliminated and content delivery is optimized with engaging tasks.

We are unable to offer financial assistance at this time. However, The Lab School of Washington provides special-education services and therefore, payments to The Lab School of Washington may be considered deductible medical-care expenses under the Internal Revenue Code. The regulations under Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code provide that:

"While ordinary education is not medical care, the cost of medical care includes the cost of attending a special school for a handicapped individual, if his or her condition is such that the resources of the institution for alleviating such handicap are a principal reason for his or her presence there."

Whether expenses of The Lab School of Washington will be deductible in a particular case, however, will depend upon the facts and circumstances of each individual student’s situation. There are also percentage limitations applicable to otherwise deductible medical expenses, depending on the parents’ income. Before taking a tax deduction for expenses relating to the special education of a student, parents should confer with their tax lawyer or accountant about the rulings and regulations under Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code and other applicable laws.
 

Yes, we offer several ways you can pay your child’s tuition.

Tuition Payment Options
 
A non-refundable enrollment fee of $2,000 is due to the school with the submission of the enrollment contract.  The fee is applicable to the tuition balance.

Payments for tuition charges are made through the school's online payment portal at FACTS. The Lab School of Washington offers several options to pay for tuition:

One payment in full, less a 1% discount, if payment is made within ten days of submitting the enrollment contract.

Periodic payments through a FACTS Tuition Payment Plan

  • Three equal payments payable in May, August and November, or
  • Ten equal payments commencing June, or
  • Twelve equal payments commencing April

Students with overdue balances may not commence classes in the Fall, or return to class after the Winter or Spring breaks.

As this article from Psychology Today puts it: "... not all screen time is the same."

We very much believe this about our program. Our students are engaged at all times with other children and a teacher who knows them well. They are working in a collaborative environment that is specialized to meet their individual needs. This is very different from passive screen time, which involves sedentary screen‐based activities and/or passively receiving screen-based information, such as watching TV or a DVD. 

Our online school is designed to ensure that our students feel a strong sense of belonging. This is one of the key ways our Global Division differs from tutoring. We know that our students learn best when they are with their peers. We are intentionally organized in small groups so that our students develop friendships as well as learn the academic skills they need to succeed.

As well, for some children with ADHD or social anxiety, the online setting offers a better pathway for learning. Children with ADHD do particularly well in our online setting because they can work in the way that works best for them without distracting other students. For children who suffer from social anxiety, in person schools can be overwhelming. Our Global Division offers children the opportunity to communicate and interact with each other while also offering them the choice as to how and when they engage. This can be a game changer for those suffering from social anxiety disorder.

Please contact Amy Oswalt via email at amy.oswalt@labschool.org or by phone at 202-641-5847.