FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2024-25
What is Shishu Bharati and where is it held?
Shishu Bharati School of Languages and Culture of India is a non-profit school having 3 branches located in Lexington, Nashua and Walpole. The school runs from September through June, with classes being held every Sunday (except Holidays) from 10:00am – 12:25pm. The school offers a KG program plus an 8 year well established Culture and Language program. The Languages offered at most branches are: Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu. In order to be eligible for KG enrollment at Shishu Bharati, the student must be 5 years old by 9/1 in MA, 9/30 in NH. A language class for Adults may also be offered as long as there is a minimum enrollment of 5 students and a teacher available.
Where can I obtain more information about the school, curriculum, policies etc.?
You can find more information at www.shishubharati.net. The “Handbook” has the general curriculum guidelines and all important information you should know. You must also view the School Policies found in the Handbook before registering your child. Please note, however, that at this time, the information in the Handbook applies to the year 2023-24, and is subject to change for the year 2024-25. You may call and speak to a Director, or e-mail us at the respective branch:
- Lexington Registrar at lexington.admin@shishubharati.net
- Nashua Registrar at nashua@shishubharati.net
- Walpole Registrar at walpole@shishubharati.net
If you know of anyone who is interested in newly registering at Shishu Bharati, they
should be asked to forward their e-mail addresses to the above noted e-mail accounts of
the respective branch so that we can keep them posted as to the registration process and
other details.
What is the procedure to handle registration of new and returning students?
Students are to be registered online through the “Online System” link provided at www.shishubharati.net. Please see pages below for detailed registration instructions. Online registration for the 2024-25 academic year will take place between July 1, 2024 through July 31, 2024. All registrations after midnight on July 31, 2024 and before August 21, 2024 may be accepted if space is available, but will not be eligible for special discount. Online registrations will close on August 21, 2024 for the Lexington Branch only. Registrations for Walpole and Nashua branches will be open until all seats are filled.
Registration requests after August 21st will be accepted on a first come first served basis after consideration of several factors and on a case by case basis. Space in most classes is limited, so you should register as soon as possible once the online registrations begin. Both new and returning students need to be registered online each year. Registration is not considered complete until full tuition payment is received by Shishu Bharati.
What if we are unable to register online due to travel plans?
We maintain all registrations and grades online, and registering online provides parents with online account access so that they can update any necessary information and access their child’s report card. We understand that many families travel to India during the summer, and want you to know that the online registration process is quick and can be done from anywhere that you have access to the Internet. Credit card payments are accepted online. Please know that there is a chance that some classes may fill up before August 21st and that you may be put on a wait list, so it would be in your best interest to register online as soon as possible.
What are the registration and tuition charges for enrolling a child?
The regular tuition charges, for 2024-25, are $450 per student ($875 for 2 siblings, $1,300 for 3 siblings). If registration is completed by July 31, 2024, special discounted tuition charges of $400 per student ($775 for 2 siblings, $1,150 for 3 siblings) apply. The charges apply to the entire school year, which is about 30-33 weeks. Returned check fee is $25 per check.Refunds & Cancellation Policy
Shishu Bharati will refund all but $75.00 tuition fee if a child is withdrawn before October 31 of the academic year. No refunds will be provided after Oct 31 of the academic year. In order for parent to withdraw registration and request refunds, please follow these steps :-
- Parents need to login to online portal and click on Withdraw Registration.
- Withdraw registration will automatically notify the admin, who will send an email to parents to confirm the details.
- Refund payment will be returned to parents as per cancellation policy outlined above.
- If any questions , please send an email to :
- Lexington Registrar at lexington.admin@shishubharati.net
- Nashua Registrar at nashua@shishubharati.net
- Walpole Registrar at walpole@shishubharati.net
Are checks for tuition fees to be collected at the time of registration?
All tuition charges are to be paid at time of registration or earlier. Credit card payments are taken online immediately upon registration. Check payments should be mailed, to the specified address given below, and received by the Registrar within 5 days of the online registration date, for the registration to be considered complete. Bounced checks will be charged administrative fee of $25. Registrations are not complete until checks are received on-time. If the checks are not received on-time, the seat may be given to other students in waiting list. Please make check payable to “Shishu Bharati School” and mail to the following respective branch Registrar:
- Lexington branch Registrations: Vasant Jinwala, PO Box 32, Belmont, MA 02478
- Nashua branch Registrations: Nikita Shah, 5 Blueberry Cir, Nashua 03062-3084
- Walpole branch Registrations: Neerav Jain, 42 Jefferson road, Franklin, MA 02038
2024 -25 ADMISSION GUIDELINES & ELIGIBILITY
Culture Class Placement:
KG Admission: Student must be 5 years old by 9/1 in MA, 9/30 in NH, 9/1-12/31 in RI
Culture 1: Student in 1st grade or higher in regular school
Culture 2: Student in 2nd grade or higher in regular school
Culture 3: Student in 3rd grade or higher in regular school
Culture 4: Student in 4th grade or higher in regular school
Culture 5: Promotion from Culture 4 only
Culture 6: Promotion from Culture 5 only
Culture 7: Promotion from Culture 6 only
Culture 8: Promotion from Culture 7 only
Shishu Bharati offers eight years of Culture curriculum to maximize the student’s knowledge of Indian Culture. It is highly recommended that the parents and students review the curriculum at the time of registering. Students may be admitted to a lower Culture Level if so desired by the parents and after consultation with the Principal and Assistant Principal of Culture.
KG Class Placement:
Children who have not completed 5 years of age by September 30th (Nashua) and September 1st (Massachusetts) , but who are enrolled in a Kindergarten Program outside Shishu Bharati is eligible to attend KG in Shishu Bharati. These children will be admitted the following year into 1st grade in Shishu Bharati upon furnishing proof of admittance into 1st grade in regular school. Failure to produce such proof will result in the children continuing another year in KG.
Language Class Placement:
All new students will start at Level 1 in Language except when they successfully complete a proficiency test to get into a higher level but not to exceed Level 3. Returning students can be placed in a higher level than promoted to, only upon passing a proficiency test upon a recommendation from the teacher and approval by the Assistant Principal.
Please log on to www.shishubharati.net, and click on “Handbook” to view the current curriculum, and Policies.
2024 – 25 ONLINE REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS
FOR NEW STUDENTS:
In order to register as a new parent and enroll your child/ren for the first time at Shishu Bharati, you will first need to create a parent online account with Shishu Bharati, and then complete an online registration form for each of your children being enrolled. Please follow the steps below to do so:
1. Go to www.shishubharati.net and click on “Online System.”
2. Click on “Create Account and fill in all required information (be sure to select “Parent” in the “Register As” drop down menu), and note down your Login ID and password for future use.
3. Please scroll down and read the school Policies and agree to the “Acceptance of Agreement.”
4. Complete all required information in the “General Information” screen- a) please ensure that you give us an Emergency phone number where you can be reached at during SB school hours, b) please ensure that you have input/updated, in this screen, the e-mail account at which you would like all official school announcements to be sent to. Please note that if you may add multiple email addresses with ; to receive emails on multiple addresses.
5. Click on “Registration Forms” tab and select “New Student.”
6. Complete all required information in the “Student Information.” Please note that the e-mail input in this screen will be used by teachers for any class related communication. If you would like for this communication as well as all other official school communication to be received by you all at one e-mail address, please ensure it is that e-mail address that is input here.
7. If enrolling another child, click on “Save: Register Another Child” and follow instructions as above. If done enrolling all children, click on “Save: Proceed to Payment”
8. Agree to the Disclaimer that pops up, for each child enrolled, by clicking “OK.” If you hit “Cancel” the registration will be invalid, and you will have to register all over again.
9. On the “Payment Details” screen, either click on “Submit Payment by Check” if you will be mailing us a check (in this case, please note down the mailing address given for the branch you are enrolling your child); or complete all CC information and click on “Submit Payment by CC” if paying online with credit card (in this case, please only submit once and do not hit the back button until you get a payment confirmation. Please take a screenshot of the payment confirmation in case of any issues.
10. At this point you are all done, except for mailing us the check if that is what you have selected. Please note that class placement will not be made until payment is received by us.
11. You can log in again, a week after this process is complete and payment has been made, to check for your child’s class placement. You can do so, by clicking on the “Registered Student Info” tab once logged in.
12. Please note that, as per the school’s policies, any new student in grade 1 and above will be placed in Language Level 1. If, after reviewing our Handbook (available online at www.shishubharati.net) for each level’s curriculum, you feel that your child is eligible to be placed in a higher Language level, please e-mail the applicable branch at lexington.admin@shishubharati.net, nashua@shishubharati.net or walpole@shishubharati.net to re-quest a placement test to be given to your child during the 2nd week after school begins.
13. E-mail us at the applicable branch at lexington.admin@shishubharati.net, nashua@shishubharati.net or walpole@shishubharati.net if you have any problems, questions or concerns.
14. Look for occasional e-mails from us or visit our website at www.shishubharati.net for any important announcements and please add the applicable branch e-mail address (mentioned above) as your “Trusted Sender” in your e-mail address book so that our e-mails do not go in your Spam/Bulk folder.
FOR RETURNING STUDENTS & THEIR SIBLINGS:
In order to register your child who is a returning student, and to register his/her sibling being newly registered this year, please be sure to use your currently registered account, by following the steps below:
1. Go to https://online.shishubharati.net
2. Sign in with your login information that you used last year (If you have forgotten your Login ID, please e-mail the applicable branch at lexington.admin@shishubharati.net, nashua@shishubharati.net or walpole@shishubharati.net and we will e-mail it to you. If you have forgotten your password, you can use the “Forgot Password” link and let us know at the above e-mail address if you do not immediately get the reset password in your e-mail account.
3. Click on “View/Update MyInfo” tab to update all current contact and other information- a) please ensure that you give us an Emergency phone number where you can be reached at during SB school hours, b) please ensure that you have input/updated, in this screen, the e-mail account at which you would like all official school announcements to be sent to.
4. Click on “Registration Forms,” “Returning Student,” and the ID of the student being registered and update all necessary student information, including current school grade. Please note that the e-mail input in this screen will be used by teachers for any class related communication. If you would like for this communication as well as all other official school communication to be received by you all at one e-mail address, please ensure it is that e-mail address that is input here.
5. Please scroll down and read all school Policies available here before proceeding.
6. If enrolling another child, click on “Save: Register Another Child” and if done enrolling all children, click on “Save: Proceed to Payment.” If newly enrolling another child, please select “New Student” on the next screen and continue as above.
7. Agree to the Disclaimer that pops up, for each child enrolled, by clicking “OK.” If you hit “Cancel” the registration will be invalid, and you will have to register all over again.
8. On the “Payment Details” screen, either click on “Submit Payment by Check” if you will be mailing us a check (in this case, please note down the mailing address given for the branch you are enrolling your child); or complete all CC information and click on “Submit Payment by CC” if paying online with credit card (in this case, please only submit once and do not hit the back button until you get a payment confirmation. Please take a screenshot of the payment confirmation in case of any issues.
9. At this point you are all done, except for mailing us the check if that is what you have selected. Please note that class placement will not be made until payment is received by us.
10. You can log in again, a week after this process is complete and payment has been made, to check for your child’s class placement. You can do so, by clicking on the “Registered Student Info” tab once logged in.
11. E-mail us at the applicable branch at lexington.admin@shishubharati.net, nashua@shishubharati.net or walpole@shishubharati.net if you have any problems, questions or concerns.
12. Look for occasional e-mails from us or check our website at www.shishubharati.net for any important announcements- please add the applicable branch e-mail address (mentioned above) as your “Trusted Sender” in your e-mail address book so that our e-mails do not go in your Spam/Bulk folder.
Disclaimer
Shishu Bharati parents, students, volunteers, community members must agree to follow current CDC guidelines and health measures stipulated by Government agencies. By registering, parents agree to release Shishu Bharati from any and all liability for unintentional exposure or harm due to COVID-19.
Privacy policy
Shishu Bharati does not store credit card information on our web site or on our servers. The registration site uses 3rd party Authorize.net to collect credit card payment processing.
