A: In the wake of ongoing concerns about increased reports of violence on school campuses across the United States, Trinity began charging a resource officer fee in 2023-2024 to help cover the substantial costs of increased security on both the upper and lower school campuses. Student safety is one of our top concerns and we believe that the benefits of having professionally trained resource officers available on both campuses far outweigh the costs.

A: Trinity teachers and students at every level use a variety of technologies to enhance learning. In every grade, including Kindergarten, teachers need at minimum high speed, wireless internet access, a high-quality laptop, a document reader, a projector, a webcam, educational software, virus protection, and various other cloud-based learning resources that require annual subscriptions. In upper elementary school, students need to be introduced to the use of a keyboard and basic word processing skills, presentation skills, and internet research skills to prepare them for the higher grades. This requires the purchase and maintenance of mobile laptops and iPad labs. At the Upper Campus, technology becomes even more ubiquitous for both teachers and students. In all cases, educational technology enhances the student and teacher learning environment and must be maintained, replaced, fixed, and upgraded every year at a significant expense. To be sustainable, the cost of this expense must be shared broadly through an annual technology fee.

A: For each grade level, we have calculated the costs for the various activities that require funding above and beyond tuition, such as grade-level feasts, retreats, overnight trips, social events, testing, and school functions. Rather than “nickel and dime” parents throughout the year for these various activities, we are now “bundling” them together into one fee that can be paid out in convenient monthly installments along with tuition. These are not new fees but a way for us to be more transparent about all the costs associated with attendance at Trinity and offer parents an easier way to pay for them throughout the school year by bundling them and spreading them out.