The Steppingstone Academy strives to help families successfully navigate the application process into an independent or public exam school. Steppingstone maintains close communication with both the feeder (the schools students currently attend) and placement schools (the schools to which Scholars will apply), and with Scholars' families during all stages of the process.

Steppingstone works closely with the independent and public exam schools which are Steppingstone placement schools. The commitment placement schools make to the Steppingstone Scholars reflects their interest in becoming more inclusive educational communities.

The process a family goes through in order to apply to a new school is determined by the type of school the Scholar wishes to attend. In Boston, while Scholars applying to placement schools for the sixth grade will apply only to independent schools, all Scholars applying for the seventh or ninth grade will apply to the public exam schools and also may choose to apply to independent schools. The first step in the application process for both options is to attend "Introduction to Placement" at the orientation meeting held in June and then to schedule an individual placement meeting with a member of The Steppingstone Academy placement staff. At each of these events, families have the opportunity to learn more about the educational options available to them and the process for accessing those options.

Independent/Catholic School Placement Process
Public Exam School Placement Process

List of Placement Schools

Please note: Steppingstone does not provide scholarship funds to those Scholars who choose to attend an independent school. The independent schools themselves offer financial aid based on the demonstrated financial need of each family. Most schools are committed to meeting 100% of the Scholar's need.