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Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston offers $1.2M in grants toward Catholic school tuition

WHEELING — Families of Catholic school students, and of some former Catholic school students, in West Virginia will get an extra helping hand thanks to a $1.2 million investment from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

Bishop Mark Brennan announced the investment Monday, which will help families enrolled in the diocese’s 24 Catholic schools around the state. It also will help those who had to leave Catholic school in the last year due to financial strains from the COVID-19 pandemic.

These qualifying families, regardless of religious affiliation, will receive $250 per child in grades PK-12 in the parochial school system to be used for tuition and fees during the 2021-2022 school year. This grant is in addition to any tuition assistance for which families are eligible, including the Diocesan Tuition Assistance Program for Catholic families; and funds granted at the local parish and school level.

“We have seen a number of families who were forced to leave our schools for financial reasons or because their parents lost employment because of the pandemic,” Brennan said.

“We want to welcome them back, as well as say thank you to those families who sacrificed much to provide a Catholic education to their children during these trying times.”

The pandemic has strained budgets across the board, Superintendent Mary Ann Deschaine, Ed.S., said, and the grant not only acknowledges the commitment of families to a Catholic education, but also offers those families an incentive to remain in Catholic schools.

“The past 12 months have been both unpredictable and challenging on our families, schools, parishes, and communities,” Deschaine said. “While we have all had to make sacrifices, we have also defined priorities. Needless to say, ours was the academic, social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental well-being of our students.”

For more information about the grant and to register for the 2021-2022 school year, families should contact their local Catholic school. For a listing go to wvcatholicschools.org.

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