Aspiring for a Catholic Education

Imagine wanting to give your child the gift of a Catholic education but not being able to afford it? Aspiring Scholars is there to help. 

Since the 2012, the Aspiring Scholars scholarship program, has served families who desire a Catholic education for their children in Louisiana. The Catholic Community Foundation and the Office of Catholic Schools worked together to develop Aspiring Scholars which is a qualified School Tuition Organization (STO).

According to Nicole Jefferson, the Aspiring Scholars executive director for the archdiocese, when the program started in 2012 there were just 47 students participating. Last year Aspiring Scholars  had 110 students enrolled in the  program. This year, the program has grown to 596 students thanks to the generosity of donors. 

“I’ve seen first-hand how this scholarship has impacted students and family’s lives,” Jefferson added. “You can feel the financial burden coming off the parents, and the high school students who receive these scholarships have more leeway to do extracurriculars and not work at after school jobs as many hours.” 

Currently, Aspiring Scholars serves every school in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, but the vision is to expand to every Catholic school  in the State of Louisiana.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be able to help so many students in the archdiocese. We are so happy that things have evolved over the years and every school in the archdiocese is willing to take these tax credits and support these children,” said Dr. Houston. “The reality is people you know could be struggling for a variety of reasons and benefit from this scholarship. We are formed in faith and know Jesus, it’s the right thing to do.”

How It Works

The Louisiana State Legislature established the Tuition Donation Credit program in 2012 to provide scholarships for qualified low to to moderate-income families. Available scholarships include: Ace, Arete, Son of A Saint and Aspiring Scholars.

“A family can apply to all four scholarships to cover their child’s tuition,” said Dr. Houston. “This has been so beneficial to so many of our archdiocesan families – a real God send. 

A Catholic education should be accessible to all families who want it for their children," she added.

The application window for Aspiring Scholars opens on Feb. 2 through the program’s website. Those with questions about how to help or to apply for a scholarship can email n[email protected].