The Ohio Department of Education has recently released the list of schools designated for the EdChoice Scholarship. The EdChoice Scholarship, available since 2005 and expanded in 2013, provides students from underperforming public schools the opportunity to attend participating chartered nonpublic schools. EdChoice Expansion provides low-income students entering kindergarten through eighth grades the same opportunity. The scholarship pays full tuition for grades K-8 at STM and $6,000 for grades 9-12. To see the criteria click here. The schools in our area recently added to the list are:
West Clermont High School
West Clermont Middle School
Withamsville-Tobasco Elementary
Batavia High School
Batavia Elementary
New Richmond Middle School
Milford Junior High
Ayer Elementary
Click here for a complete list of schools.
STM accepts both traditional EdChoice and EdChoice Expansion scholarships. Traditional EdChoice is a grant from the state of Ohio to pay full tuition to STM for new students in K-8, whose public school of residence is one of the elementary or middle schools on the list above. EdChoice Expansion is a scholarship for low-income families who live in the state of Ohio to receive a grant for tuition regardless what school district they live in.
What does this mean for current STM students? Students currently enrolled at STM in grades K-7 are not eligible for the traditional EdChoice but are eligible for the EdChoice Expansion if they meet the income guidelines. Current eighth grade students who reside in the West Clermont or Batavia school districts are eligible for a $6,000 grant toward tuition at the Catholic high school of their choice.
If you know of a family who lives in the district of any of the above schools, please spread the word that they can attend STM for free through eighth grade. Once a student is on the traditional EdChoice Scholarship, they remain on it through twelfth grade as long as they complete the annual application - regardless of whether their public school of residence improves or not.
The application for the 2020-2021 school year will be available February 1, 2020. Please contact Marsha Barnes for more information at 513-753-2540 or [email protected].