Admission Policy

The following are the Archdiocesan Board of Education Policies concerning admission to Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis:

“The Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis welcome students who wish to apply for admission, regardless of race, sex, or national origin. The local board establishes policies for admission of Catholic students.

Catholic Schools have not been, nor shall they become, havens for those wishing to avoid social problems confronting them in the public sector. Students who are not of the Catholic faith will be expected to assume their portion of the financial responsibility for their education through tuition, since they do not participate in the contributory subsidy from Catholic parishes (Policies 5210, 5410).”

We hereby certify that the above policies of the Archdiocesan Board of Education have been and are being complied with by St. Mary’s School, 209 Washington Street, North Vernon, IN 47265.

We certify that this school has completed self-evaluation of compliance with Title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Amendments of 1972. The school is in full compliance with Title IX.

St. Mary’s School strives to work with learners of diverse abilities and skills. However, St. Mary’s School may not be able to meet the needs of every student who applies for admission. St. Mary’s School may ask for and review all academic, psychometric, and medical records of students who wish to attend to make a determination if St. Mary’s School is the best placement for the student.

The school respects the personal conscience of individual students and their families. This freedom is recognized by the Catholic Church. However, as a Catholic school it cannot relinquish its own freedom to proclaim the Gospel and to offer a formation based on the teachings of the Catholic faith and the values to be found in Christian education. Students are expected to participate in religious instruction and Catholic formation, including Christian service, offered at the school except those that are intended only for Catholics (e.g., reception of the sacraments).

PRESCHOOL

St. Mary’s preschool is open for pre-kindergarten age (3 & 4 year old) children. 4 year old Program will be offered morning and afternoon sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week. 3 year old Program will be offered morning sessions on Tuesday and Thursday of each week. Children must be 3 or 4 years old on or before August 1^st to attend. Catholics as well as non-Catholics are welcome. Spots will be filled starting on the school’s registration date for all grade levels..

Tuition

The mission of St. Mary’s School is to offer a Catholic education to each and every child in the parish. When there is space available, we extend an invitation to other families who wish a values-based Catholic education for their children to attend St. Mary’s. We, the St. Mary School Commission, believe that a Catholic education should be a multi-faceted partnership involving traditional teaching in the classroom, parental involvement, and family stewardship of time, talent, and treasure. The Commission holds to the principle that the faculty set high moral and academic standard for themselves and their students in order to create an optimal, Christian, learning environment in which students grow spiritually and academically to the best of their abilities. The Commission also has high expectations that school families will make a strong commitment to the school: physically through your volunteer work and your financial support; emotionally through your words, attitude, and encouragement; and spiritually through your church attendance and practice of religion.

A Practicing Catholic Family affiliated with St. Mary’s Parish is defined as one that:

Is a registered member of St. Mary’s Parish with a current pledge card on file.
Provides proof that the child attending St. Mary’s School is a baptized Catholic.
Participates regularly in Sunday liturgies.
Financially supports the parish through the weekly use of contribution envelopes in a significant way.
Participates through service to the school/parish in volunteering for events such events as bingo, festival, playground duty, board and/or committee work. Additional opportunities are listed in the enrollment packets.
Failure to meet criteria 1 and 2 will mean non-affiliated rate. Failure to meet criteria 3, 4, and/or 5 as determined by the School Principal, may result in a conference with the Principal, Pastor, school commission rep, and/or fundraiser committee rep and may result in being assessed a different tuition rate or dismissal from the school.

A Non-affiliated Catholic Family is defined as one that:

Is Catholic but has membership at another parish.
Participates through service to the school in volunteering for such events as bingo, festival, playground duty, board and/or committee work. Additional opportunities are listed in the enrollment packets.
Failure to meet criteria 1 will mean non-Catholic rate. Failure to meet criteria 2 as determined by the School Principal, may result in a conference with the Principal, Pastor, school commission rep, and/or fundraiser committee rep and may result in being assessed a different tuition rate or dismissal from the school.

A Non-Catholic Family is defined as one that:

Is not a Catholic family.
Participates through service to the school in volunteering for such events as bingo, festival, playground duty, board and/or committee work. Additional opportunities are listed in the enrollment packets.
Failure to meet criteria 2 as determined by the School Principal, may result in a conference with the Principal, Pastor, school commission rep, and/or fundraiser committee rep and may result in dismissal from the school.

A Non-participatory Family is defined as one that:

Does not meet the criteria for any of the above categories.

REGISTRATION DATE FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR
Completed registration and enrollment fee must be paid for the child to be registered and their spot held. This enrollment fee shall be non-refundable so long as the family maintains a residence in Jennings County. Enrollment after the due date will be taken on first come, first serve basis depending upon space and availability; according to our Admission and Wait Policy.

TUITION DUE
August 15 through May 15 – 1/10 of the tuition is due the 15^th of each month.

Tuition assistance information:
There is a process for those who need tuition assistance. To be eligible, the following requirements must be met:

Only Practicing Catholic parishioners are eligible to receive a reduction in tuition.

The procedure for applying for tuition reduction is as follows:

Meet with the Principal to discuss a new payment plan.

Delinquent tuition procedures:
Delinquent tuition payment shall be dealt with in the following manner.

The first month delinquent: Parents shall receive a statement informing them of the delinquency.
The second month delinquent: Parents shall receive a phone call from the Principal or the Principal’s designee requesting that the parents bring tuition payments to current balance due or make an appointment with the Principal to explain the situation and request a waiver or reduction of tuition.
Tuition payments shall be current at the end of the first semester or arrangements made with the Principal prior to the beginning of the second semester for enrollment to be continued.
Registration forms, enrollment fees, previous year’s tuition, or other unpaid bills not received by July 1 of that school year may result in students’ names being dropped from the class list.

PLEASE NOTE: If a family has had a conference with the pastor as contemplated by the definitions set forth on St. Mary’s tuition program in this handbook which has resulted in a reclassification of a student for tuition purposes, the new tuition rate shall become effective immediately following the conference. The pastor retains the sole responsibility to determine the tuition classification applicable to any family. Failure to pay the new tuition rate as determined by the pastor shall result in the institution of the above delinquent tuition procedures.

An unpaid tuition balance or other unpaid bills may result in a child’s name being dropped from the class list July 1^st. Permanent files will not be forwarded to the new school until full payment of outstanding tuition and fees have been made.

	2024-2025 Tuition Rate	Monthly Rate
Catholic	$5,200	$520
Non-Catholic	$6,250	$625
Pre-K 3 Year Old	$1,000	$100
Pre-K 4 Year Old	$1,500	$150
Catholic Non-St. Mary’s Parishioner fee per child	$500
Registration Fee per child	$100
Technology Fee per child	$100