Online Application

EPIC Application Form and Acceptance Policy

Thank you for your interest in the EPIC Learning Community! The application process involves two steps:

Apply to EPIC by filling out this form
Apply to Navigate—NiDES‘s Heartwood program and choose EPIC (opens February 25, 2025)

There is a $35 non refundable registration fee to be paid once a space has been offered to your child. Paying this registration fee shows intent and is considered an acceptance for the placement. Families will be contacted by EPIC when a space becomes available for their child, based on the following priorities:

Families of children registered the previous year with EPIC
Families with a sibling registered in EPIC
Families employed by EPIC, e.g. Teacher’s child
All other families who have expressed interest will be asked to complete a questionnaire (see below) to assess the best fit to the existing cohort and to ensure EPIC can meet the child’s needs.

Please note: The waitlist is not first come first serve. As much as we would like to welcome everyone to EPIC, we need to be mindful to create a balance in terms of age, gender, needs, etc within each cohort and within the program in general.

When you are offered a spot via email, you have 48 hours to respond. After that time, the space may be made available to another family/child.

Questionnaire for Prospective Families 2025/2026

To help ensure available spots are offered to those who are a suitable fit to EPIC’s existing cohort and EPIC’s ability to meet your child’s needs, we request all families complete the following questions. Upon completion of this questionnaire, we will happily consider your family as having applied for an available opening.

Family Information

Parent/Guardian Name(s)(Required)

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Learner's Name(Required)

Age(Required)

Date of Birth(Required)

Pronouns

Grade 2025/2026(Required)

Languages Spoken at Home

Cultural Identity (optional)

Application Questions

1. What has led you to EPIC? What excites you about a community learning environment?

2. What lights up your child?

3. We loved getting to know our families! Describe your current parenting philosophies. What is your dream educational environment for your child?

4. What information would be important for our Learning Team to understand about your child’s ability to navigate challenges or handle emotions like frustration, anger, sadness or alarm?

5. What previous educational experiences or group activities has your child participated in? Please share some of the positives and/or challenges of those models for your child and family.

6. How does your family connect with nature and spend time outside? What is your child's threshold for challenging weather?

7. Does your child require one-on-one support in group settings?

Yes

8. In order for your child to thrive in a group setting, does your child require additional support (ex. Extra time during transitions, help keeping track of their belongings, etc)?

Yes

Please describe:

9. Has your child received a learning needs assessment or have one in progress or is awaiting results? Despite advocacy efforts, we do not currently receive on-site support from the school district for children with designations and our current pay structure does not allow us to hire extra support, like EAs. We welcome supports you are able to provide.

Yes

Please let us know what supports your child could require and current strategies or plans for meeting those and how they might look in partnership with us. We want to work together to see if EPIC is the best fit for your child.

11. EPIC operates on a small budget. If a family withdraws we could lose the ability to pay our mentors. We understand that complete certainty is not possible, but are you planning to commit to the full school year at EPIC?

Please read and acknowledge our inclusive practices at EPIC:

I have read and acknowledge EPIC’s inclusive practices

EPIC is committed to creating a welcoming and safe space for learners, parents, and staff. In our partnership with NiDES and School District 71, we integrate SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) inclusive education into our programming to respect, affirm, and value each others’ diverse ways of being, including gender identity, cultural identity, race, ethnicity, ability, and developmental age. We honour Indigenous lands, cultures, relationships, and ways of knowing. We seek to consciously incorporate this knowledge into our words, teachings, and actions.

EPIC Learning Community