When Headmistress Elaine Brooks contacted one of her student’s parents last spring, she couldn’t help but smile. She had good news to share.
Brooks contacted the parents to let them know their child’s application for tuition assistance was approved by the CCSTA Endowment Fund Committee.
This funding meant the family could afford to send their child to the Nova Scotia school, Our Lady of Schools.
“When I called the parents to tell them they got the grant money, they were overjoyed,” Brooks recalls.
With no public funding in Nova Scotia for Catholic schools, the families have to pay out the annual tuition, which is thousands of dollars.
The CCSTA Endowment Fund assists students in paying their tuition to attend Catholic schools in those provinces in Canada with limited or no public funding.
This program is welcomed by the newly-joined Nova Scotia district.
Last year, the two Catholic Nova Scotia private schools – Our Lady of Schools and Sacred Heart – joined the RCISA; a new connection automatically tying them to CCSTA. This year thus marks the first opportunity for the Nova Scotian students to apply for tuition assistance.
“We feel blessed to be a part of this program,” says Brooks.
With 25 students attending Our Lady of Schools, Brooks says she was happy to see one of the students receive the needed financial assistance from CCSTA.
“This money made a difference in the student’s life,” she says, adding that the tuition benefitted more than just the student. “It allows that family not to struggle and it also helps the school out in so many ways.”
When learning of the CCSTA tuition assistance program, Brooks explained how donors came forward.
“People connected to the family who received the tuition assistance learned more about our school and ended up financially contributing to our school,” explains Brooks. “The funding got the word out and we had a lot of people wanting to show their support for our little school.”
The school is already active in its quest to raise enough dollars to continue operations and augment tuition costs.
Each year the school hosts a gala, an autumn concert and a handful of other fundraising events. To make these events a success, both the staff and parent volunteers work together.
“For a small school we are extremely active,” says Brooks.
The school will host its 10th anniversary celebrations next year and plans are already underway to honour the past decade and celebrate the school’s future success.
“We are so excited to grow and continue to develop our relationship with both the RCISA and CCSTA,” says Brooks.
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