Access to an excellent Catholic education unlocks opportunity, possibility and a future full of hope for children and their families. A new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) finds that middle class American families are getting priced out of these life-changing educational opportunities. In 1970, 30% of all private elementary school students (including Catholic school students) were from middle class families. In 2013, only 7% were from middle class families.
Catholic schools were not built only for those children and families who can afford tuition. Fulcrum was founded on this very principle, and we are committed to providing meaningful tuition assistance to families from low-income and marginalized communities. We are also committed to seeking new and innovative ways to identify and help solve current challenges facing Catholic schools. That’s why last year Fulcrum launched a new tuition assistance program to increase access to Catholic schools for middle-income families, targeting the financial tipping points (e.g., what’s the right amount of tuition assistance based on family income?) and transition points (e.g., how can strategic tuition assistance grants increase retention of Catholic school students from 8th to 9th grade?). Year one results show that this new tuition assistance program is working, and what we are learning about this new approach is shaping how we think about our entire tuition assistance program.