How do folks deal with this? (education related)

[KCT]

When couples are open to life and have large families, how can they afford to educate the kids in Catholic schools? One of the local Catholic schools has to stop multiple child discounts. Families w/ several kids are upset. I don’t blame them. On the other hand, the school has to pay teachers a just wage, which costs money.

Obviously we should be praying for vocations . . . more teaching nuns might help solve the problem. In your opinion, what else can be done? (please don’t say homeschool, as not all families are called to that) --KT (who homeschools but wonders how large families manage private school)

 

[mommy]

In our parish, they really encourage enrollment in the Catholic school. They even have a sponsorship program, where you can donate money towards tuition for those who can’t afford it. Some people pay full tuition for someone, others just contribute what they can. It does help. As well, the school is very lenient on making payments, discounts, or anything creative to get your kids into the Catholic School.

 

[Kay_Cee]

In my parish, we have a second collection to help pay for this.

I used to teach in an all-girls Catholic high school. Tuition was steep, but no child was ever turned away because the parents could not afford the cost.

If this is a problem you are facing, talk to your parish priest and the school principal. See what you can work out. You might be able to help pay for tuition in kind by working at the school (as an aide or doing repair work, painting classrooms, cleaning, and so forth). Some parents at our parish school work there and so are with their kids all day.

 

[Giannawannabe]

mommy:

In our parish, they really encourage enrollment in the Catholic school. They even have a sponsorship program, where you can donate money towards tuition for those who can’t afford it. Some people pay full tuition for someone, others just contribute what they can. It does help. As well, the school is very lenient on making payments, discounts, or anything creative to get your kids into the Catholic School.

WHERE IS THIS SCHOOL???

 

[AlanFromWichita]

The Diocese of Wichita has gone to an ostensible stewardship program. It still has some bugs to work out in its implementation, but if it gets fully implemented the way it looks on paper, it is sweet.

The theory is that the Catholic Church would like to include as many children as possible in Catholic education, because those children will be running the Church soon enough, and we want to foster stewardship.

Therefore, families who pledge to give stewardship of an agreeable amount and type (time, talent, and/or treasure) based on their ability to pay, their children will go to Catholic school. This may or may not be a particular percentage of their income. Each family’s situation is different, and is treated individually.

When they get to high school, it’s a bit trickier. The high school charges tuition but each parish pays that tuition to the high school on behalf of its members. The children and their families sign a stewardship agreement outlining what they will do. The agreement is a commitment to a lifetime of stewardship as long as we are members of this parish. This is where the parish has to be careful because they’re forking over like $4000 per year per child to the high school, so they do expect the children to take an active stewardship role.

Plus, when they are in high school they have to perform certain community service hours, and idea that I’ve heard is also starting to catch on in some private schools.

I’m not saying this is the best system, but right now I am unemployed and scraping by, but I have three kids in Catholic grade school and two in Catholic high school this year. I am very thankful, especially since one of those children spent two years in public high school so I know which to prefer.

Theoretically, the decision to go to Catholic school in our diocese, then, is based on your commitment to you and your children’s own ability to do stewardship for the parish, and not your ability to pay tuition. My son who is a senior in high school, for example, washed windows at church, vacuumed the church on certain days, and spent two full days with the school maintenance man helping to do heavy work that took two people.

If anyone wants more information I can probably get it for you.

Alan

 

[turboEDvo]

Loyola is pretty cheap compared to other Catholic high schools in the area, about 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of others. The alumni association at my school is awesome, so they get a lot of money to help out those that need some money to go there.

Eamon

 

[gardenswithkids]

AlanFromWichita:

The Diocese of Wichita has gone to an ostensible stewardship program…The theory is that the Catholic Church would like to include as many children as possible in Catholic education, because those children will be running the Church soon enough, and we want to foster stewardship.

Therefore, families who pledge to give stewardship of an agreeable amount and type (time, talent, and/or treasure) based on their ability to pay, their children will go to Catholic school.

This sounds wonderful! I’ve read a little about it previously, and it sounded like the bishop has encouraged generousity to the Church for years in order to get to this point. I’d love to see that spread.

I ran across an old tuition information sheet in my parents’ stuff from my old parochial school. The support from the parish for large families was amazing back then. The second and third child’s tuition was only 1/6 th of the first. The fourth and more were free! No wonder I remember so many large Catholic families there!

Now with six children, we’re one of the largest families I know. Most of my friends use the Catholic school at our parish as long as it’s offered (5th grade), then switch to public school for middle school. We send our eldest to a private Catholic high school. The school does offer need based scholarships, and they factor number of children into those calculations.

I homeschool my other children, but we are looking at possibly switching parishes to one with an affordable Catholic school that goes above 5th grade. As originally posted, homeschooling isn’t for every family, but it seems large families that want a Catholic education through 12th grade have few other affordable options. I recently wrote a letter to a child we sponsor in another country, and I understood in a small way what it must be like for her parents to want an education for her that they can’t afford.

It seems the bishop in Kansas has come up with a good model for support of Catholic education. It offers support for Catholic education from the whole community, similar to what parents found many years ago. More vocations would certainly help the Catholic education crisis. But if we don’t encourage generous sized families and generousity from the whole community, how will we nuture the generous spirit it takes to say “yes” to the call to religious life?

 

[armywife]

I totally agree with Alan from Wichita. I grew up in the Wichita dioscese and went to K-12 there. The tithing system work wonderfully. The very wealthy tithe more than 10% and help make up for those who cannot afford to.

Example: If you make 30,000 a year and give 3000 a year all you kids go to school for that amount no matter what. 3000 sounds like a lot for only making 30,000 but not when you consider the great education you’re getting.

 

[KathleenElsie]

Here is Western PA we were priced out of our Catholic school.

After the tuition went to $LOTS X every child we turned to home schooling so mom could stay at home and not work to pay for Catholic School.:banghead:
Some families moved their children to another area and their tuition for five children is less then ours was for one.:banghead:

So the answer to your question is HOME SCHOOLING:bounce:.

 

[armywife]

ps: I can inderstand how supporting your local diocese might be difficult considering some of them aren’t so great theologically, but luckily Wichita has great young priests that are very loyal and conservative. Move to Kansas!