Archdiocese gives $400K in high school tuition grants

This school year alone, the Archdiocese of Omaha is distributing $390,660 in tuition assistance to 383 students in all 17 Catholic high schools.

And signup for the coming school year will begin in high schools in January, with forms available in English and Spanish. Eligibility is based on the federal free- and reduced-lunches program. Families are encouraged to apply for all four years their children are in high school. 

“I want parents to know that the process to apply for tuition assistance is easy, and I wish more families would apply,” said Jennifer Fiscus, principal of St. Rose of Lima School in Crofton. “The assistance makes a Catholic education more feasible for families, both small and large.”

Money for the grants comes from two sources, the Omaha Archdiocesan Educational Foundation (OAEF) and the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal scholarship program. Over the past 10 years, more than 2,700 students have received support from the high school grants.

Ann O’Connor, principal of Roncalli Catholic High School in Omaha, said about 25 percent of the families in her school receive free or reduced lunch, and archdiocesan scholarships have a significant impact. 

“Families who may not otherwise have had the opportunity for a Catholic education now have access to one,” O’Connor said. “Students are not only given the gift of receiving a college preparatory education, they are invited to strengthen their faith or discover Catholicism for the first time.”

Tim Bogatz, development officer for the OAEF, credited the commitment and generosity of supporters of the annual appeal and the foundation for providing families “the opportunity to continue their children’s Catholic education into and throughout high school.”