Program increases K-12 scholarship support
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News from ACE Scholarships
BILLINGS — Thanks to generous contributions from donors across Montana, ACE Scholarships raised $2.6 million in 2013 to provide hundreds of children in grades K-12 with a choice in their education, and to support Native American schools with grants to address critical needs in their buildings.
ACE works with families of low-to moderate-income levels and provides up to 50 percent of private school tuition with a cap of $2,000 for grades K-8 and $3,000 for high school. Parents are responsible for the remaining tuition and must pay something towards their child’s education, oftentimes at a great financial sacrifice.
“The high demand for scholarships demonstrates that Montanans need more school choice,” said ACE Montana State Director, Sarah Laszloffy. “Families with means are able to afford private schools if they feel those institutions are what’s best for their children, but low- and moderate-income families oftentimes feel stuck if for some reason their assigned public school is not working for their child.”
ACE announced its scholarship program in April 2012, and quickly became oversubscribed with more than 800 applications to fill the 500 scholarship openings. With support from Montana business leaders, ACE was able to provide scholarships to 520 children in 47 private schools across the state in the 2012-13 school year.
ACE Montana was forced to turn away close to 300 families due to a lack of funding in its first year.
Montana business and community leaders rallied around the cause, many joining the ACE Montana Advisory Board to promote the need for greater school choice in the state. As a result, in 2013-14 ACE increased its support to 650 Montana students, while also providing $100,000 in funding to several schools that serve Native American communities. The organization will continue to grow the scholarship program to 700 students, or more, in the 2014-15 school year.
To learn more about the program visit www.acescholarships.org.
