Tution Aid for PYM Friends’ Children in PYM Friends Schools
Who Can Apply
Eligibility requirements
- MEMBERSHIP—At least one parent or legal guardian needs to have been a member of a Monthly Meeting within Philadelphia Yearly Meeting for at least one year prior to the start of the school year in which the funds will be applied to tuition.
- NEED—Families must complete the Friends school’s financial aid process – submitting all required financial information to the school. Each Friends school provides a list of qualifying applicants to the Friends Education Fund. The parent is responsible for coordinating the application process with the Meeting. Schools use a formula that gives an advantage to Quaker families (schools have agreed to base their calculation of need on 80% of family income). Families who qualify for even the most modest amount of aid – given the assumption their income is 20% less than it actually is – are considered eligible for a grant.
How To Apply
Applications and additional information are posted on the Friends Education Fund website: FriendsEducationFund.org. Application is initiated by the family through the Friends Education Fund website and made in coordination with applicant’s Quaker School’s financial aid process and their Quaker Meeting.
Deadlines: December or January – Tuition Aid form to Clerk of Monthly Meeting; February 15 – Tuition Aid form to School; June 1 – list of students applying for financial assistance from school to Friends Education Fund.
Grants are paid directly to the school in the Fall of the year for which tuition aid is awarded. Families are kept informed about the process through the school’s financial aid officer. Families need to be in touch with their own Meetings to request any additional funding from the Meeting.
Contact
Zachary Dutton
Associate Secretary for Programs and Religious Life
215-241-7008
ZDutton@pym.org
Funds
The Fund for Tuition Aid for Friends Children in Friends Schools increases the ability of Friends’ children to attend Friends schools if they choose to do so. Income sources include the Friends Education Fund [FEF is not a PYM fund]; the Samuel Jeanes Education Fund; Anna Gray Morris Trust; DeCou Trust and the Jonathan Rhoads Endowment Fund. The Jonathan Rhoads Endowment Fund was created in 2002 by PYM with a gift from the Rhoads Trust, to “raise a substantial endowment to make it a lesser financial burden for Friends [Children] to attend Friends schools … and make the schools and the Quaker community stronger.” In 2014, the Shaw-North Endowment which is “intended to make Friends’ Schools more available to children of Friends in PYM” was merged into the Rhoads Endowment. Each of these constituent funds has particular criteria, but all of them support tuition aid for Friends children in Friends schools.
Monthly Meetings and Quarterly Meetings are strongly encouraged to match the grants of the Yearly Meeting. PYM does expect Meetings to make an effort to support their young people at Friends schools. If a student leaves school after the start of the school year, the school should add the balance of his or her Yearly Meeting tuition aid to its general assistance funds for Friends children.