Registration Information

St. Joseph Catholic School has a proud tradition of providing a quality Catholic education to all families, regardless of financial situation.  We have never had to turn anyone away from our programming.  A comprehensive financial aide program is available to qualifiying families.

The Our Faith, Our Families, Our Future School Tuition Organization is a primary financial aide resource for families requesting financial aide.  Our school utilizes Private School Aide Service to determine financial aide levels. Click here to begin filling out the PSAS financial aide form.  Filling out the PSAS financial aide form is a pre-requisite for qualifying for any local tuition assistance.  When completing the application, our school code is 3271 and the authorization code is arch1.

You should receive in the mail over the weekend, a registration packet with our Tuition Agreement. If for some reason you did not receive one, please download the registration form below and return it to the school.   A $75 registration fee is required at the time of processing, and both sides of the registration form require a signature.

School Tuition 2010-2011

Extended Care Program Rates 2010-2011

Please see the attached flyer

Preschool Tuition Rates 2010-2011

The monthly tuition rate for the 2-day program for three year old students is $155.00 per month or $1,395.00 for the school year.  The monthly tuition rate for the 3-day program for four year old students is $165.00 per month or $1,485 for the school year. Please feel free to call the school office for more information at 377-6348 or email Mrs. Seymour, our preschool teacher at eseymour@cr-cath.pvt.k12.ia.us

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Tuition

• What are the tuition amounts for the 2010-2011 academic year?

Please see the enclosed registration form.  Tuition for a single child is $2,352.  The cost of tuition for non-Catholics is $5,041.  Per pupil cost is determined by dividing our expenses by the projected number of pupils served.  The tuition amount covers all academic fees associated with St. Joseph Catholic School.

• Why did the family discount levels change?

Tuition is still discounted for families with multiple children attending St. Joseph Catholic School.  In previous years, these discounts have been calculated prior to any increase in tuition.  The result of this practice is much deeper discounts than advertised.  Ultimately, the school cannot afford to continue with this practice.  In other words, when we applied a rate increased, those rates were applied to the previous years rate.  This year, the Board of Education modified this discount structure.  Now, you will receive a 5% discount when your second child enrolls, a 10% discount when your third child enrolls, and a 15% discount when your fourth child enrolls.  Although we are proud of the fact that we are able to offer these family discounts, please keep in mind that it doesn’t cost the school any less to educate that second, third, or even fourth child.

• How is the tuition level determined?

The cost to educate one student is determined each year as the budget is set.  The parish and non-parish tuition amounts are then set based on this budget and projected budget expenditures.

• What is a parish subsidy?

Parish subsidies provide tuition support for students belonging to our parish and supporting parishes of St. Joseph Catholic School (St. Joseph, St. Isidore and Immaculate Conception).  It costs $5,041 to educate one child per year.  That means a single child family paying a tuition rate of $2,352; the balance ($2,689 per child) is paid by the parish.  In total, St. Joseph Parish contributes over $565,000 per year to St. Joseph Catholic School!

                   $5,041            Total Cost to Educate

                  -$2,352            Tuition

                   $2,689            Per pupil cost to the parish

• What if my family cannot afford the full tuition amount?

St. Joseph Parish and the Archdiocese of Dubuque are committed to making sure Catholic education is available all.  The STO sponsored by the Archdiocese of Dubuque combined with our local assistance program offer expanded opportunities to help qualifying families afford Catholic education.  The STO is available to all families who have a taxable income in 2009 at or below 300% of the federally determined poverty rate.  The STO currently has $3.72 million that will be distributed to families attending schools in the Archdiocese for the 2010-2011 academic year.  A portion of that assistance will be available to qualifying families at St. Joseph Catholic School.  Because our available funding has increased by 30% this year, we anticipate an additional 30% in available aide for our school, but only if you fill out the application!

• Does St. Joseph Catholic School have a separate assistance program?

St. Joseph Catholic School has its own tuition assistance program.  It is open to all Catholic qualifying families.  Completing the PSAS application for tuition assistance through the STO is a qualifying pre-requisite for local assistance.  Our mission remains to provide Catholic education to all who desire it, regardless of financial situation.

• How can my family apply for tuition assistance?

Both the STO and St. Joseph Catholic School will be using Private School Aid Services (PSAS) to assist in determining the level of assistance to be awarded.  PSAS has developed an application that all families need to complete to be considered for STO assistance.  Your personal information will be held in the strictest confidence at all times.  If you have a child at more than one Archdiocesan school or if you wish to apply for both types of assistance you will only need to complete one PSAS application form.  There is a $21 non-refundable processing fee for the application, payable to PSAS.

St. Joseph Catholic School also utilizes a general in house application for our own assistance program.  There is no processing fee for this application.

The applications will be available at St. Joseph Catholic School beginning February 1^st, and online at www.psas.org.  In addition to your completed application, you must include a copy of your 2009 federal income tax return or your 2008 federal income tax return with a copy of your 2009 W-2(s).  The PSAS application needs to be completed on-line or completed on a paper copy and postmarked no later that March 15^th, 2010.  

To assist you in filling out the application PSAS will have a call center available at 1-866-424-6443.  The call center is open Monday-Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to noon.  You are also welcomed to call the office 377-6348 and speak with Mr. Voss.

• What is the timeline for tuition assistance?

February 1           Applications available at St. Joseph Catholic School office

March 15              Completed applications must be post-marked or filed electronically.

May 16                 Award notification letters sent to all families who apply.

June 1                   Families receiving assistance send confirmation they are accepting/

                              declining the assistance back to the school.

• Are there any options to reduce tuition payments?

Utilizing SCRIP is a great way to reduce your tuition payment.  A percentage of the SCRIP sales are put into your personal TRIP account, which is deducted from your tuition bill.  Call the school for more details.

• What if my family experience financial difficulties during the year?

If at anytime your family experiences financial difficulties, please contact the office and speak with Mr. Voss.  All conversations will be kept strictly confidential.