New to Catholic Schooling

[xflaxen]

My husband, my daughter and myself are currently in the process of RCIA and have decided to become Catholic. We also have two younger boys (ages 5 and 3) and a baby on the way. We live in Utah, which has A LOT of people of the Mormon faith, My daughter who is in elementary school gets the question “Are you Mormon?” and when she says no, the children stop asking to play with her, or when she asks them to play with her they say no.

She has cried about it often, feeling left out. I started touring the Catholic schools (they start taking applications for NEXT year in September) today. I called a school and the receptionist was really friendly. I told her we were new to the area, what my daughter (only one i’d be enrolling right now due to finances) is going through and that I also really would like to go to a Catholic school because I want her academics to be surrounded with morals, and have her be able to openly discuss and ask questions about Jesus. She told me that the grade my daughter will be in THIS year isn’t full at all and that their are a lot of openings, and asked why I was looking for next year instead of this year. I told her it was financial, that I could save up this school year and be able to pay a good chuck of her schooling for next year probably this coming May. We are a one income family of soon-to-be-six, as I am too sick right now (pregnancy hormones:blush to work, and so our income is $40,000. And of course, we’ve got personal bills and such (like medical, student loans, etc)

She stated that I have way passed the financial aid and scholarship time (usually done January - March) so there really is no financial aid left for this year but that there are only a few people who are able to the tuition. She got off the phone and said since my daughter will be a full Catholic before January, they can give me the Catholic tuition. She asked me what I could afford and possibly help me out since I missed the boat on financial aid. I quoted that $300 was all I could afford a month and she gasped, and said that is a MAYBE but that isn’t her decision and she doesn’t think it can go that low even. (A normal catholic rate is $455/month) and she goes “Oh…well, I’m just going to be honest and tell you that is the absolute BARE I know the school will go…” I have a meeting at the school soon. She said if I like it to bring $250 to register since school starts in a week in a half.

Right now, my children qualify for reduced lunches and we live in low-income housing. We normally are better off but our little family has had some hard financial blows this past year which has made things hard for us a little bit. I have never dealt with private schooling. Can I please get some advice?

• Should I bring the award letter for free reduced lunch to show that I am in a certain income bracket for the amount of people in our household?

How do I discuss the reduced price tag? I’m usually a very shy person and money to me is a very personal matter I never discuss with anyone. LOL

 

[Viki63]

Hi flaxen,
Welcome! So happy to hear your family is joining the church! You won’t be sorry, though it looks like you are going through some difficulties at this time. But belonging to the church Jesus founded is a great blessing.
My children went to Catholic school for most of their elementary years. I appreciated that they could talk about God at school without problems.It is really a shame the children don’t want to play with your daughter; but it may make her compassionate in future to others.
To answer your question, I would suggest that you bring the award letter for reduced price lunch. You might also want to bring your last tax return, as proof of income, though they may not need to see that.
The way to discuss your finances is matter-of-factly. Realize that you are trying to be excellent parents, to provide your children with the best possible education and remove them from a discriminatory situation, and you have nothing to be ashamed of. You can just let them know that you can afford $300, and you hope they will be able to work with you. Catholic schools are usually anxious to enroll more students, as they are not exactly rolling in money, since they aren’t funded by our taxes, and they may be able to help you out. Of course they probably can’t give preferential treatment, but it might be on the basis of a one-year situation, and then you would need to apply for financial aid next year. Our school has been able to help out students who had a parent pass away, for example, to help them stay in school.
Will be praying that it works out for you.

 

[Southy82]

I’m just going to come out and say it. When it comes to supporting Catholic families in the area of schooling, the dioceses I’ve dealt with get a big, fat “F” when it comes to how they handle the situation. They really don’t support traditional Catholic family life when they demand that a single income family pay such exorbitant amounts. I have one in Catholic school now and three more on the way…there’s no way I can pay for all of them to be in Catholic school. And it’s no fair to have some of my children go to Catholic and then some go to public school. I suppose that I will have to not send any of them if the school won’t take them all for a price that I can barely afford as it is. It is because of this greed when it comes Catholic school that I have stopped donating to my Church. I now give my donations to directly to a specific Catholic charity instead.

 

[maryjk]

I’m just going to come out and say it. When it comes to supporting Catholic families in the area of schooling, the dioceses I’ve dealt with get a big, fat “F” when it comes to how they handle the situation. They really don’t support traditional Catholic family life when they demand that a single income family pay such exorbitant amounts. I have one in Catholic school now and three more on the way…there’s no way I can pay for all of them to be in Catholic school. And it’s no fair to have some of my children go to Catholic and then some go to public school. I suppose that I will have to not send any of them if the school won’t take them all for a price that I can barely afford as it is. It is because of this greed when it comes Catholic school that I have stopped donating to my Church. I now give my donations to directly to a specific Catholic charity instead.

Greed?

Asking you to pay your way is considered greedy?

 

[PatriceA]

I’m just going to come out and say it. When it comes to supporting Catholic families in the area of schooling, the dioceses I’ve dealt with get a big, fat “F” when it comes to how they handle the situation. They really don’t support traditional Catholic family life when they demand that a single income family pay such exorbitant amounts. I have one in Catholic school now and three more on the way…there’s no way I can pay for all of them to be in Catholic school. And it’s no fair to have some of my children go to Catholic and then some go to public school. I suppose that I will have to not send any of them if the school won’t take them all for a price that I can barely afford as it is. It is because of this greed when it comes Catholic school that I have stopped donating to my Church. I now give my donations to directly to a specific Catholic charity instead.

I’m a little confused why you responded to a thread that is from last August just to rant against Catholic Schools.

 

[maryjk]

I’m a little confused why you responded to a thread that is from last August just to rant against Catholic Schools.

Good catch. I missed that it was an old thread.

 

[PatriceA]

Good catch. I missed that it was an old thread.

I didn’t either, at first. And I was going to respond but then I got to thinking why is someone thinking about enrolling their child in a Catholic school this school year when most schools only have a week or so left till summer vacation., lol.

 

[Southy82]

Greed?

Asking you to pay your way is considered greedy?

maryjk, using your logic, one could argue that I should “pay [my] way” when I go to Mass, too. Seriously, though, we both know that is not required. And yes, I do say greed when I see a diocese that pays for carnivals, unnecessary renovations, unnecessary building purchases, etc. A diocese should be scraping together every penny to get our children into their schools. Children are our future.

And for those of you that were honestly wondering why I made a comment on this thread, it was only on the second page of threads. So, please forgive me from looking at “older” posts as I am away from my family right now have an excessive amount of free time. Also, before you chastise me for my rant, and yes I admit it is a rant, I actually am enrolling my two oldest children in a new Catholic school because unlike most people, I don’t have the luxury of being able to stay in one location for more than three or four years.

In closing, I just want to say that I don’t mean any ill will. This is just sore subject for me. Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut. I forgive you and I hope that you forgive me, too.

 

[PatriceA]

maryjk, using your logic, one could argue that I should “pay [my] way” when I go to Mass, too. Seriously, though, we both know that is not required. And yes, I do say greed when I see a diocese that pays for carnivals, unnecessary renovations, unnecessary building purchases, etc. A diocese should be scraping together every penny to get our children into their schools. Children are our future.

And for those of you that were honestly wondering why I made a comment on this thread, it was only on the second page of threads. So, please forgive me from looking at “older” posts as I am away from my family right now have an excessive amount of free time. Also, before you chastise me for my rant, and yes I admit it is a rant, I actually am enrolling my two oldest children in a new Catholic school because unlike most people, I don’t have the luxury of being able to stay in one location for more than three or four years.

In closing, I just want to say that I don’t mean any ill will. This is just sore subject for me. Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut. I forgive you and I hope that you forgive me, too.

There isn’t any second page of this thread.

And for the record, I’ve been a Catholic school parent and realize the sacrifices a parish makes to keep its school open. So you can’t blame the Diocese for every rant against the costs of parish school. Its not easy to fund parish schools right now.