Afford SHCS

Sacred Heart aims to provide support to families who seek a Catholic education but need help with tuition. Thanks to our partner organizations and private donations, assistance may be available based on qualifying criteria.

APPLYING FOR AID:

Families are responsible for submitting their own records within the designated deadlines. For income eligibility c ontact the school to find out if you qualify and begin the online application.
Based on an objective set of standards, the review committee recommends a decrease in a family’s tuition based on the amount of financial aid available for the school year.
Financial aid is paid for by our partnering organizations or through donations (details below). The amount available for financial aid may vary from year to year.
Financial aid will be allotted on a monthly basis. If the student withdraws from school during the year, all unused portions of their financial aid revert back to the Financial Aid Fund.
Financial aid awards will be communicated, in writing, from Sacred Heart School to the applicant.
Families are requested to notify Sacred Heart School by the stated deadline for their financial aid award acceptance or rejection of the award and/or the consequential withdrawal of their student for lack of a grant award.
All awards are for one academic year and parents must reapply annually for financial assistance.
Financial aid does not cover annual fees nor books.

Scholarships based on Income Need:

Growing Catholic Education partners with Sacred Heart to help provide assistance to those who qualify as middle income. (2022-2023 applications will be accepted beginning 6am, April 15, 2022. Have your 2021 tax return ready to answer questions)
ACE partners with Sacred Heart to help provide assistance to those who qualify as low income.
Thanks to the generosity of donors, Sacred Heart retains a limited tuition assistance fund for families who may not qualify for the above funding streams.

Scholarships for Families with Children who Have Special Needs - SUCCEED provides a scholarship to an eligible private school for students with disabilities that have an individualized education program (IEP), individualized service plan (ISP), and students in foster care living in a group home or facility that meet eligibility requirements. Applications should be completed through Succeed and acceptance is based on the school's ability to meet the needs of the student.

TUITION ASSISTANCE & ATHLETICS

Tuition and Financial Aid Procedures (Arkansas Activities Association/ AAA)

If tuition is charged, it must be paid by parent, legal guardian, or other family member. If a parent, guardian, or other family member secures a loan for payment of tuition, it must remain an obligation of the parents, guardian, or other family member to repay the principal and interest in full with no exceptions. Financial aid will be allowed under the following conditions:
Financial aid may only be awarded on the basis of need. Proof of need must be filed in the AAA office on forms approved by the Executive Director. In order to determine the basis for need, all schools awarding financial aid shall use one of the following agencies: Financial Aid Independent Review, Financial Aid for School Tuition, Private School Aid Service, School and Student Service for Financial Aid, Tuition Aid Data Services, and FACTS Grant in Aid Agency. The use of any unapproved agency renders the student ineligible. (Sacred Heart uses FACTS Grant in Aid Agency)
Any loan program, grant program, educational foundation, scholarship, or similar program that is established and/or administered, in whole or in part, by a school or official of a school is considered financial aid.
Schools shall remove any student from athletic eligibility whose accounts with the school are 60 days overdue.
All records pertaining to financial aid or tuition assistance shall be open to the AAA upon its request. Each school shall be responsible for securing necessary authorization to allow the AAA to review or audit such records.
In addition, nonpublic member schools providing financial assistance programs for athletes shall present to the Executive Director of the AAA by October 1 of each year the following documents: Financial Aid For Nonpublic School Athletes and Financial Aid Form Supplemental List. Nonpublic member schools must also submit to the AAA a Student-Athlete Financial Aid Report Form for fall sports by December 7 of each year and a Student-Athlete Financial Aid Report Form for winter and spring sports by May 8 of each year.

ARKANSAS 529 PLAN
Arkansas families now have the option to use their 529 plan savings toward private K-12 education thanks to a new state law, along with the ease of access with the Gift529 app. Those who open a 529 plan build savings for a child’s college education tax free. When the child then attends a college, university or vocational school in- or out-of-state, withdrawals from the account will not incur federal income tax. Anyone can make contributions to a plan, starting with as little as $25. Because of the updated law, parents can take out up to $10,000 tax free each year toward private K-12 education, while also continuing to save for college expenses.

Afford SHCS

TUITION ASSISTANCE & ATHLETICS

Sacred Heart Catholic School