Home Page Home Page Events Events Photos Photos Diocese of Ogdensburg Home Page  
Follow Us on Facebook


Archives Bishop’s Fund assists Catholic school parents

Dec. 3, 2014

By Sister Ellen Rose Coughlin, SSJ
Superintendent of Schools

I am asked frequently what the “Diocese” does to help our Catholic schools meet their financial obligations. The first answer I offer concerns the annual Bishop’s Fund Appeal. Each year a generous portion of the appeal is given to schools to distribute as tuition assistance.

The Bishop’s Fund provides the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) to aid parents who meet eligibility requirements with tuition costs. This year the Bishop’s Fund allotted $195,000 to the TAP initiative. With an additional $10,500 from the Father Mallette Endowment, a total of $205,500 will be distributed in tuition assistance.

Four hundred fifty-four students or 28% of our student population in grades K-12 will be awarded tuition assistance from these combined resources. Such awards are given based on the criteria established for those who qualify for free or reduced lunches by the federal government or on a special need noted by a principal or pastor.

The Bishop’s Fund affords the faithful of the Diocese with the opportunity to contribute to the wide reaching needs of the Diocesan family and to provide assistance to individuals and programs within the local parish. The Tuition Assistance Program is one example of money “returning” to the local area. This year approximately $78,307 will be available for tuition assistance in the Jefferson Deanery (Augustinian Academy, Carthage; Immaculate Heart Central Elementary and Junior/Senior High Schools, Watertown); approximately $51,601 in the Franklin/Clinton Deaneries (Holy Family, Malone; Seton Academy and Seton Catholic Central, Plattsburgh); approximately $44,812 in the Saint Lawrence Deanery (St. Mary’s, Canton; St. James, Gouverneur; Trinity Catholic, Massena); approximately $30,780 in the Adirondack/Essex Deaneries (St. Agnes, Lake Placid; St. Bernard’s, Saranac Lake and St. Mary’s, Ticonderoga).

No one expresses the importance of the tuition assistance program as well as the parents and students who are recipients of the assistance. Each year the Bishop and the Department of Education receive notes of appreciation for the assistance received.

“We would like to thank you sincerely for the scholarship you gave our grandson. We are so grateful for the education and guidance he is receiving in our Catholic school.”

“Thank you so much for your continued support of our very fine Catholic school, a true extension of family for us. Your help in tuition assistance makes it possible for us to send our children to this amazing school.”

“Our family has received a scholarship toward tuition this year. Due to some economic household changes, without this assistance, our two sons would not have been able to continue their Catholic education.”

“Thank you for the Diocesan Tuition Assistance. I attended Catholic schools from grade school through college and know first-hand how superior a Catholic education is. It helped to form me not only intellectually but emotionally and spiritually. I am so grateful that my husband and I are able to give our children the same opportunity we had.”

Our Catholic schools are special first and foremost because they are a place to encounter Christ. They provide so much more than the human knowledge and skills necessary for personal growth. They offer the words and deeds of Jesus, our rich Catholic heritage and tradition and a community of faith which teaches not only by words but by the witness of lives committed to Christ.

Our schools take to heart these words: Find your home in Christ: Renew Faith, Nurture Hope and Discover Love.  Christ- led and Christ-fed students and their families are invited to journey in faith through the proclamation of the Gospel, the celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments and the loving service of neighbor.

Contributions to the Bishop’s Fund are an opportunity for the entire Catholic community to contribute generously to the financial needs of our schools. This assistance helps make a Catholic school education available and affordable for parents who might otherwise not be able to send their children to a Catholic school.

On behalf of the parents and children who receive financial assistance through your generosity, I take this opportunity to express my appreciation for your contribution to the Bishop’s Fund and its effort to pass on our Catholic faith from generation to generation.

North Country Catholic North Country Catholic is
honored by Catholic Press
Association of US & Canada

Copyright © Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg. All rights reserved.