PHILOSOPHY:
Catholic schools offer a great education, form leaders for the future and pass on our precious Faith. It is so important that Catholic families have an option when it comes to educating their children. Often, even though there are good teachers and staff working in public schools, these are policies and programs that either limit the expression of faith or in some cases even promote values contrary to our faith.
While many families recognize the value of a Catholic education, one of the greatest obstacles is tuition, even though Catholic schools offer a great value for their dollar. The Church has long advocated for school vouchers to offer parents a choice. However, what do we do in the meantime? We must rely on the Church, the faithful parishioners, the Body of Christ, to rise to the occasion and keep Catholic education alive and open to more and more families. In this spirit, St. Mary Academy is launching a bold initiative to make our school affordable to more children—NOBLE KNIGHTS.
HOW IT WORKS:
Up to now, all tuition assistance and scholarship opportunities have been linear. This means that, thanks to the generosity of many, funds are available to offer partial scholarships ranging from 25%-75%. While this has been a great blessing, our Noble Knights program is introducing a circular model. This means that someone who receives tuition assistance through the Noble Knights program must commit to certain requirements. To be accepted into the program, in addition to an application, the parents must meet with a board to discuss these requirements. The purpose is to ensure that they do not only receive financial assistance, but even more become part of the St. Mary Academy family and become committed to its mission. In that spirit, these are the requirements:
- Families who receive Noble Knights assistance must commit to attend Mass each week.
- If they receive partial tuition, they must make their share of payments on time. If they miss a payment, they will be asked to leave the program.
- As part of the St. Mary Academy family, they will commit to a certain amount of “sweat equity,” giving back to the school by a form of service determined by the panel during their review. This is different from PTA volunteer hours and could involve work such as maintenance and landscaping.
- As a participant in the Noble Knights program, they will commit to ‘pay it forward’ by making a donation to this fund after graduation in the amount of at least $100. They also agree to be an ambassador for St. Mary Academy and Catholic education.
COMMITMENT:
To be a sponsor for the Noble Knights program, a donation of at least $500 is required. This can be from an individual, a group, or an organization.
If interested, please contact St. Mary Academy (609) 597-3800