Tuition & Financial Aid

We are committed to the Church's teaching that "Catholic schools [should be made] available to those whose economic means might otherwise deprive them of one of the Church's most valuable resources for building up the Body of Christ" (The Holy See's Teaching on Catholic Schools).

To that end, I want to share with you some information about financial aid/scholarships available for families. We have three buckets of aid available (see below) and the difference matters because of our participation in School Choice, accounting practices, and how our generous donors have allocated funds. Policy is forthcoming regarding exactly how scholarships and aid will be made available for families in an equitable and by-need basis. As a general rule, we will not offer automatic discounts like many other schools do: multiple child, parish member, etc. Instead we want to keep the financial aid/scholarship buckets as big as possible and the accounting simple by giving scholarships/aid to families based on their need. (certainly, the number of children families have enrolled at SJL Academy is a major consideration). In the best interest of the long-term financial well-being of the academy and to maximize the available aid as much as possible, we encourage families who can readily pay full tuition to please do so. We are deeply grateful to families who can as it better positions us to help other SJL Academy families.

As a first step, tuition paying families who would like to seek financial aid/scholarships please complete the grant/aid information via the FACTS portal (same company that applications and enrollment are handled through). The information you provide is completely confidential and simply helps us to better assess and meet the needs of each family. We know families make financial sacrifices to attend Catholic school. We strive to bridge the gap for them and make it feasible for as many families as possible to join and support our mission and vision.

The vast majority of tuition (80%+) is what pays for operational costs especially teacher salaries. The graphic below may help bring clarity to how school finances work. As you can see, our tuition does not cover the entirety of the cost to educate. The remaining gaps are made up through fundraising efforts.

School Choice: More than 20 students participating in the School Choice Program at SJL Academy. This allows tax-payer money to be put to good use and given back to families who desire a Catholic education for their children. Eligibility for this program is based on a income threshold.

Scholarships are available for families K4-6th. Certain amount of money is designated each year with much coming from the efforts of the annual auction & gala.

Financial Aid is designated for 2K-3K families. Certain amount of money is designated each year with much coming from the efforts of the annual auction & gala.

If you have any questions at all or want to chat this over, I am more than happy to do so. Please email me to setup a time that works best for you: greeng@stjmuk.org