Need encouragement - Catholic school and finances

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emerson97

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I am in desperate need of encouragement and strength to continue on the path of our daughter attending Catholic school. We want her to continue, she loves her school and really wants to continue, but the financial burden is so steep that I don’t know if we can make it.

We live in a place where the public school she would have to attend is among the lowest in the nation academically. Drugs, alcohol use, etc. are prevalent and open. Metal detectors are in place and there was a shooting there recently. It is too late to get into a charter school.

At her current school, everything is grounded in the Catholic faith. She is receiving a wonderful, academically challenging education from caring instructors. The school is safe, and she is so happy. She worked so hard to get accepted into this school and is, as promised, working as hard as she can and doing her very best in all her classes.

Switching to a different Catholic school won’t help because A) Their costs are all rather close, some a very little more, some a very little less. B) We don’t have the money right now to pay for new uniforms, books, registration fees, etc. C) We would lose any money we’ve paid to the current school.

I’m looking for extra work above the 50 hours I am currently working, but am having a hard time finding another job. I’m going to need either 10-15 more hours of work each week, a raise or a miracle. Extra prayers and encouragement are sorely needed, please! Sending her to Catholic school has been a dream come true for both myself and my daughter. She was just telling me the other day how Catholic school has made such a difference in her life; I can’t bear to take it away from her…
 
Is this your only child (or the only one still home)? If so, I’d make an effort to afford the school. If she’s old enough, perhaps she can get a job (even $100 a month babysitting) and contribute?

If you have more kids who will be going to school soon, I would hesitate to suggest continuing with Catholic school, unless your parish makes you a very good offer.

Is a move to an area with safer public schools possible?
 
It’s not a parochial school, so no pastor with whom to speak. As for scholarships, you are only able to apply for scholarships if you had straight A s both semesters from fifth grade on. Each year, she had one or both semesters where she had a B in Math. Everything else was an A, but it was enough to keep her from being eligible even to apply. Need-based aid is only available if you qualify for government assistance. My husband and I both work, so we don’t. Moving to a different area is not an option at this point.
 
Hi emerson,

I am really sorry for your struggles. I was going to suggest a scholarship situation for you, but I see that you explained it for us here.

I would call the school and see if they have any kind of alternate tuition situation for you.

For example, in my last parish, the school let the parents volunteer in order to help with some of the tuition for their child/children. The parents were able to help out with the school/parish fundraisers, and then had some of their tuition credited this way.
 
Talk to the principal about any private scholarships or even a work study situation that might be available. (My sister went to Catholic high school at a very discounted rate because she tutored other students three days a week after school.) Also, look online. There are some organizations that fund scholarships for students to attend Catholic schools. Does the school have an alumni association? That’s a good place to look for help as well.
 
emerson97 said:
I am in desperate need of encouragement and strength to continue on the path of our daughter attending Catholic school. We want her to continue, she loves her school and really wants to continue, but the financial burden is so steep that I don’t know if we can make it.

We live in a place where the public school she would have to attend is among the lowest in the nation academically. Drugs, alcohol use, etc. are prevalent and open. Metal detectors are in place and there was a shooting there recently. It is too late to get into a charter school.

At her current school, everything is grounded in the Catholic faith. She is receiving a wonderful, academically challenging education from caring instructors. The school is safe, and she is so happy. She worked so hard to get accepted into this school and is, as promised, working as hard as she can and doing her very best in all her classes.

Switching to a different Catholic school won’t help because A) Their costs are all rather close, some a very little more, some a very little less. B) We don’t have the money right now to pay for new uniforms, books, registration fees, etc. C) We would lose any money we’ve paid to the current school.

I’m looking for extra work above the 50 hours I am currently working, but am having a hard time finding another job. I’m going to need either 10-15 more hours of work each week, a raise or a miracle. Extra prayers and encouragement are sorely needed, please! Sending her to Catholic school has been a dream come true for both myself andmy daughter. She was just telling me the other day how Catholic school has made such a difference in her life; I can’t bear to take it away from her…
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Hi Emerson - does the school offer financial aid for those who qualify? Many, if not most, schools do.
 
`Two friends of mine traded cleaning blackboards and sweeping hallways for Catholic high School Tuition.
Why not ask to trade labor (yours, your daughter’s) for tuition?

Many Catholic schools keep a few extra used uniforms on hand for the children who forget their uniforms, or schools will have a uniform exchange at the end of the year to enable people to get used (but servicable) uniforms at lower cost.

May God bless you and your family.
Amen.
 
Our parish does not have a school but does help with tuition at other Catholic schools. It’s not widely known and I wouldn’t have heard about it if the DRE hadn’t mentioned it to me when I told her my DD was changing parishes to qualify for the in-parish tuition.

It wouldn’t hurt to ask if your parish has such a program.
 
Thank you to everyone for your wonderful suggestions and support. I have just applied for a position that is the exact hours I need and will put us within $100 of making her tuition payment. (Thank you, God!) Our daughter is going to talk to her principal tomorrow about work study, which will hopefully make up the difference. Please pray that God gives us guidance and acceptance in both of these matters. If it’s not His will, I don’t want it, but it does seem to be exactly what we need.
 
emerson97 said:
Thank you to everyone for your wonderful suggestions and support. I have just applied for a position that is the exact hours I need and will put us within $100 of making her tuition payment. (Thank you, God!) Our daughter is going to talk to her principal tomorrow about work study, which will hopefully make up the difference. Please pray that God gives us guidance and acceptance in both of these matters. If it’s not His will, I don’t want it, but it does seem to be exactly what we need.
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Best wishes! You’re very close.
 
emerson97 said:
Thank you to everyone for your wonderful suggestions and support. I have just applied for a position that is the exact hours I need and will put us within $100 of making her tuition payment. (Thank you, God!) Our daughter is going to talk to her principal tomorrow about work study, which will hopefully make up the difference. Please pray that God gives us guidance and acceptance in both of these matters. If it’s not His will, I don’t want it, but it does seem to be exactly what we need.
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Good luck with the interview! How do you feel about taking a personal loan to cover the years as they come? We worked out with the bank a redraw on our home loan to cover tuition. At one point we had the three in highschool at the same time. My youngest finished 2 years ago and technically we’re still paying off the school fees, but since they are all paying thier own way in the house now, there really is no burden at all.
 
Hi again emerson,

Thanks for updating us. I hope and pray that everything works out for your daughter and your family. I hope that you get this job position! 🙂

God bless you and your family!
 
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