Scholarship Opportunities
At Grace Christian Academy, we are committed to helping parents become educated about Arizona’s educational funding opportunities. In the state of Arizona, families are blessed to benefit from multiple tuition assistance options, including School Tuition Organization (STO) Tax Credit Scholarships and Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA). Utilizing these options, every GCA family should be able to cover between 60-100% of their out-of-pocket tuition costs for grades 1-8. Learn more at the upcoming Parent Workshops happening on our campus.
Tax Credit Scholarships
The state of Arizona allows private school students to apply for Tax Credit Scholarships from School Tuition Organizations (STOs). Grace Christian strongly encourages all new and current students to apply for scholarships from multiple STOs each year. Tax credit scholarships are awarded only to students who have completed our enrollment process. More detailed information can be found on each STOs website as well as here.
There are four types of Tax Credit Scholarships:
Original Tax Credit Scholarships
Any K-8 student enrolled at Grace Christian is eligible to apply for the Original Tax Crédit Scholarship program. Preschool students with a disability who have an IEP or MET plan that GCA can provide services for are also eligible to apply.
Overflow/PLUS Scholarships
To be considered for an Overflow/PLUS scholarship, the student must be enrolled at Grace Christian Academy and also meet one of the following criteria:
- The student attended an Arizona district or charter school for at least 90 days in the prior school year, then transferred to a private school.
- The student is currently enrolled in Kindergarten at a private school.
- The student is a dependent of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces who is stationed in Arizona under military orders.
- The student was homeschooled immediately prior to enrolling in a private school.
- The student moved to Arizona from out of state immediately prior to enrolling in a private school.
- The student participated in the ESA program and did not renew or accept the scholarship in order to accept STO scholarships.
- The student previously received an Overflow or Corporate Scholarship in a prior year, and has attended private school continuously since.
Corporate Low-Income Scholarships
These awards have the same eligibility guidelines as the Overflow/PLUS Scholarships, but also have an additional family income requirements.
Corporate Disabled/Displaced Scholarships:
To qualify for a Disabled/Displaced Scholarships, a student must meet one of the following criteria:
- The students is identified as having a disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, or by a school district, and must provide a copy of either an IEP, MET, or 504 plan issued by an Arizona public school.
- Students who are (or have ever been) placed in the Arizona foster care system at any time before the student graduates high school.
Thank you to our known corporate donors:
Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA)
Parents have a right to choose what is best for their family and have their tax dollars pay for the school that meets their child’s needs. Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) make that possible.
With the ESA program, the money that would pay for that student’s education in their neighborhood school follows that student to whichever school the parent chooses for their child. ESA dollars can cover multiple education expenses, including private school tuition. ESAs are open for application for any K-12 student under the Universal ESA program. In addition, additional funding may be available for students with diagnosed disabilities, including preschool students.
Find out more about ESA options at www.azed.gov/esa
Please Note: Families who accept ESA contracts for their student cannot use any STO Tax Credit Scholarship funds in the same ESA school year (July 1 – June 30) that an ESA is accepted. However, under current guidelines, some STOs may be able to make awards to ESA students and hold those funds for a future time when a family stops using an ESA for that student. Please attend a Parent Workshop to find out more.
The Timothy Scholarship
The Timothy Scholarship is specifically designed to aid families of Kinderprep through 8th graders who are new to Christian education or have an unexpected financial struggle. The GCA Finance Committee will review the applications and send its recommendation to the GCA School Board for the final decision. The Timothy Scholarship is awarded after all other scholarships (e.g., STO, ESA) and discounts are applied. As each application is unique, the Finance Committee will carefully consider the needs and decide on an award. Keep in mind that not all applicants are guaranteed an award and that the decision of the Finance Committee is final.
R.L. Johnson Scholarship
The R.L. Johnson Family foundation is committed to Christian education and is specifically designed to aid families with a student enrolled in 6th-8th grade at GCA. Families with an enrolled middle school student can apply for this $5,000 one-time scholarship. This scholarship can be either needs-based or merit-based. As each application is unique, the administrative team and the School Board will carefully consider each application and decide on the award recipients. Keep in mind that not all applicants are guaranteed an award and that the decision of the team is final.
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