Homeschool Co-op Fees: What Families Pay and What the Money Covers

A homeschool co-op can cost almost nothing or more than a month's rent, and both are normal. On the co-ops' own fee pages we read, one parent-run group asked about $50 a semester for a family of two children. A Waldorf-inspired family co-op meeting two mornings a week asked a little over $1,100 per child for a 12-week semester. Most co-ops charge a per-family fee for the shared costs (rent, insurance, the website) and then per-child fees for supplies or classes. What changes the number most is whether parents teach and whether the group pays for a room.

How much does a homeschool co-op cost per month?

Most co-ops don't price by the month. They charge a fee per semester, per term or per year, and it helps to turn it into a monthly figure yourself when you compare. Here is what six co-ops ask on their own public pages. They're not Waldorf groups, except the last, but they show the range of shapes a fee can take.

Co-op (state)	Per family	Per child	What's included
A parent-run co-op	$10 facility donation per semester	$30 supply fee for the first child, $10 for each sibling, per semester	Every family volunteers during co-op time
A co-op meeting in 10-week sessions	$80 to $110 per session, rising with the number of children, plus $10 a year	$10 supply fee per child aged 3 and up, up to 4 children	New families pay $15 for a background check
A co-op in Ohio	$70 a year, then $70 a semester if you teach or $140 if you don't	Paid classes for teenagers only	Materials fees vary by class
A co-op in Washington	$250 a year for one day, $350 for two	Tuition and supply fees per class	Family fee covers rent, insurance and admin
An enrichment group in Minnesota	$52 per term	Classes at $8 to $16 per hour	Family fee covers rent, insurance, website
A Waldorf-inspired family co-op in Florida	$75 a year	$350 a month, plus $125 materials per semester	Art supplies, nature journals, craft materials and snacks

Sources: each co-op's own registration or fee page, listed in the sources for this article.

The first two in the table are groups where parents do the teaching. The fees there pay for paper, glue and the building. The Washington and Minnesota groups pay instructors, so each class has its own tuition on top of the family fee. The Florida group is a small family co-op, two mornings a week for children aged about 4 to 10, where parents stay and take part. Its fee is closer to what a small Waldorf-inspired program costs than what a supply-sharing co-op costs.

Do homeschool co-ops charge per family or per child?

Nearly all of them do both, and the split follows the cost.

Per family pays for what the group shares no matter how many children come: the room, the insurance, the website or sign-up system. The Washington co-op says its family fee "covers rent, insurance and other administrative costs." The Minnesota group is even more exact: about 45% of its family fee goes on rent, 40% on liability insurance, 10% on its website and 5% on everything else.

Per child pays for what each child uses up, like paint, wool and beeswax, or a place in a class. That's why supply fees are nearly always per child.

Many co-ops soften the per-child part for big families. The parent-run co-op charges $30 for the first child and $10 for each sibling. The co-op with 10-week sessions stops charging supply fees after the fourth child. And one Ohio co-op charges families who teach half what it charges families who don't, which is a way of saying the co-op runs on parents' time as much as their money.

What the fee buys in a Waldorf-inspired co-op

In a Waldorf-inspired group the supply fee does a lot of work, because so much of the day is made with the hands. Picture a Tuesday morning. Circle time with a verse and a song, then the main lesson story. After that, wet-on-wet painting at a long table, beeswax warming in small hands, a basket of wool for finger knitting. All of it runs out.

A supply fee in this kind of group usually covers:

• Watercolor paper, paints in the three primary colors, boards and sponges for painting. The Waldorf supplies list shows what a family buys at home.
• Block or stick crayons, and main lesson book paper.
• Wool, knitting needles and modeling beeswax for handwork.
• Lantern paper for Martinmas, flour for Michaelmas bread, and whatever else your group makes for the festival year. Our seasonal crafts article has ideas for each season.
• Snack, if the group shares one.

The Florida co-op's materials fee covers "art supplies, nature journals, craft materials & snacks," which is close to this list.

What the fee usually doesn't cover is each family's own curriculum at home. If your group shares a program, check whether families buy it separately. On Starpath for co-ops, for example, running the co-op is free, and families who want the curriculum buy it for their own children.

Why are some homeschool co-ops so expensive?

Three things move the price, and you can see all three in the table.

1. Who teaches. When parents take turns leading circle, telling the story and setting out the painting, there's no wage to pay. Once a group hires a eurythmy or handwork teacher, tuition appears. It's usually charged per child for each class.
2. Where you meet. A member's living room or garden costs nothing. A church hall or community room often costs rent, and many venues also ask for insurance, which is another yearly bill. Our guide to where a co-op can meet goes through the options.
3. How often. Two mornings a week costs more than one, and a weekly group costs more than a monthly festival gathering. The Washington co-op charges $250 for one day and $350 for two.

A high fee isn't a bad sign, and a low one isn't a good one. It tells you what kind of group it is.

Questions to ask before you join

When you visit a co-op, and it's worth visiting one before you pay, these questions tell you more than the fee itself:

• Is the fee per family, per child, or both? Is there a sibling discount?
• What does it cover? The room, insurance, supplies, snack or teachers?
• Is it refundable if you leave mid-year? Several of the fee pages above say their fees are non-refundable.
• Do families who teach or take on a job pay less?
• Are there extra fees for particular classes, festivals or outings?
• Is there help for a family who can't pay? One co-op in the table names a scholarship fund and payment plans.

If you're still looking for a group, the Waldorf Map lists Waldorf-inspired co-ops, schools and parent-and-child groups near you.

If you're setting the fee

If you lead a small co-op, work out your costs for the year first, then divide. Carol Topp is a CPA who writes for homeschool leaders. She suggests one simple fee for families, with the detail kept in the budget, where leaders check that the fee covers every cost. Our co-op budget guide has a table you can copy. If insurance is on your list, read co-op insurance in the US before you price it, and for the bigger picture of co-ops and pods, see our co-ops and pods guide.

For what Waldorf-inspired homeschooling costs at home, outside the co-op, see how much Waldorf homeschooling costs.