TUITION and AFFORDABILITY

AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE

Rockford Lutheran believes every family desiring a Christian education should have that chance, so our goal is to make becoming a Crusader affordable. Almost half of our students benefit from over $1.2 million offered in tuition assistance each year.
 
The Annual Tuition and General Fees for the 2023-24 school year are:
  Preschool
(PK3-PK4)
Elementary
(K-5)
Jr. High School
(6-8)
High School
(9-12)
Enrollment Fee (Standard Rate, Fee may vary with deadlines and a Tuition Deposit may apply)      $      75        $    100         $    100         $    100
Tuition Rate (annual)      $ 7,100        $ 7,350         $ 8,250         $ 8,500
Books & Materials Fee      $     200        $    250         $    325         $    325
General Enrichment Fee      $      75        $    140         $    140         $    140
TOTAL ENROLLMENT, TUITION AND REGISTRATION FEES      $ 7,375        $ 7,740         $ 8,715         $ 8,965

 

Half-day and Three-day options are available for preschool grades and a half-day option is available for Kindergarten. Options for individual K-12 subjects/courses are available as well. Contact the Admissions office for rates and details.

Financial Assistance and Awards

Merit-based Scholarships, Interest Area Awards (only available for Early Admissions students in grades 6-12), and Grants for association congregation members, Lutheran school transfers and for dependents of Alumni are packaged with need-based awards, making for an achievable and affordable financial investment. Scholarships and grant awards are renewable within each school division (Elementary, Jr. High School, and High School) if renewal criteria are met. Click here for more details.

Demonstrated Financial Need is established through a family application submitted through the FACTS Grant & Aid system (see more information and links below). Rockford Lutheran School considers this financial need along with other factors and will strive to help make access to a Rockford Lutheran School education a reality for your family, but due to budget constraints and the availability of funds we can’t guarantee that we can meet the full need of any family. Need-based financial assistance only considers the applicable tuition and not any other general or specific fees, which must be paid in full by all families.

Tuition is due by the semester but a discount is available for paying the full year in one payment and quarterly or monthly billing plans are available for a small fee. Student Billing accounts are set up and managed through the FACTS Tuition Management system.

 
Families with more than one child may fear that their total tuition will be too much of a burden. We understand this at Rockford Lutheran and we want to be the educational partner for the entire family. Our awarding philosophy factors in all of the tuition costs in the family so that each child’s need is uniquely calculated to make attending Rockford Lutheran a real possibility for siblings.

Over $1.8 million financial assistance budget.

Any awarded funds are not a loan and are not paid back.

61% of students receive some form of financial award

During the Early Admission Period, the following additional awards will be available to eligible and interested students entering into grades 6 through 12.

Competitive application-based $500 per year scholarship awards (renewable through the end of HS for up to a total award of $3,500) for demonstrated skill and engagement in service and the arts. Open to admitted applicants only. Deadline for submission of the application and required materials is February 15, 2023. Decisions to be announced by February 25th. Limited to up to 10 of each scholarship to new students into grades 6 through 12. A student may only receive one Interest Focus Scholarship award.

Kolb Music Scholarship   –   Awarded to students with a strong demonstrated interest and aptitude in music. To be eligible, the student must have participated in a formal music program for at least one year, or have had music lessons for one year, on any instrument, piano or choir. In addition to the Kolb Music Scholarship application form, a video recording of a musical selection performed by the applicant, of the applicant’s choice, at least 1 minute in length must be submitted. To receive and renew the Kolb Music Scholarship award the student must be enrolled in at least one music class each year and receive a grade of B or better in all music classes.

Pastor Marvin Fritz Service Scholarship   –   Awarded to students that have demonstrated a strong interest in service to their neighbors, modeling Matthew 25:34-36. To be eligible, the student must have evidence of a demonstrated track record of participation in personal and group service projects through their church, school or community organizations. The Fritz Service Scholarship application form is required along with evidence of service participation. To renew the Fritz Service Scholarship award, the student must submit documentation of at least 25 service hours per year, with participation in at least one service project of RLS while in JHS and at least two RLS Christian Service Project teams while in HS and maintain a cumulative gpa of 2.5 or better.

Rockford Lutheran Visual Arts Scholarship   –   Awarded to students that have a strong interest and demonstrated aptitude and/or skills in one or more media of the visual arts, such as photography, drawing, painting, sculpting or physical media. The RL Visual Arts Scholarship application form is required along with sample artistic creations by the student. To receive and renew the Visual Arts Scholarship award the student must be enrolled in at least one art class each year and receive a grade of B or better in all art classes.

 

RLS Association Church Member Grant Award of $350 per year grades K-5 and $400 per year grades 6-12. At least one parent must be a confirmed member of an association member congregation (see listing on the website). Annual Church Membership Verification form required by May 31st of each year for grant renewal.

Lutheran School Grant Award of $250 per year grades K-5 and $300 per year grades 6-12. Can’t be combined with RLS Association Church Member Grant. Only available to students transferring from the highest offered grade of their Lutheran School who have completed at least one full year at that Lutheran School.

Legacy Grant Award of $250 per year to the dependent children of any alum of Rockford Lutheran School (only one parent must be an alum, only $250 available per student per year).

Discounts for Multiple Children attending per family: 10% for second, 20% for third, 30% for fourth, applied to tuition only.

PAYMENT PLANS

Rockford Lutheran School partners with FACTS for evaluating demonstrated financial need (used for need-based aid awards) and for student billing. Families are able to manage payments and view detailed invoices online and pay online, over the phone 24-hours a day, or via check. The FACTS Tuition system accepts bank draft payments, major credit cards (2.95% fee), or cash (via Western Union, fees apply).

For questions regarding tuition or the FACTS Tuition system please contact :

Andrea Davis, Student Billing Coordinator,
at adavis@rockfordlutheran.org
or 815-877– 9551×137

 

You will designate a payment option when you enroll your child(ren) and the following options are offered:

SEMESTER PAYMENTS: Full payment of the tuition and fees for one semester can be made through FACTS up to the deadline without any additional charge. The system will automatically set up a payment date for the Spring semester as well.

EQUAL MONTHLY OR QUARTERLY PAYMENTS: Plans with equal payments can be selected in the FACTS system: 4 quarterly or 10 and 11 monthly payments . An auto-debit billing arrangement (through credit/debit card or direct bank account payment) must be established. Payment due dates available on either the 5th or 20th of the month, final plan payment due by May 20th  Families may transition to a Monthly Payment Plan for the Spring semester or modify an existing plan by calling the Student Billing Coordinator prior to the Spring semester payment deadline.

How much better to get wisdom than gold,
to get insight rather than silver! ~ Proverbs 16:16

 

RLS FACTS Aid Flyer

There are very few things in life that can never be taken away, will never go out of style, and that truly make you a better person. An education is one of those things. At Rockford Lutheran School we understand this and want to help make Christian education a reality. Tuition assistance is available on the basis of demonstrated need. If you believe that your resources are not sufficient to meet the total costs of a Rockford Lutheran education, you are encouraged to apply.

Rockford Lutheran School partners with FACTS to confidentially collect and verify family financial information to establish financial need by a family.

FACTS  provides a framework through which household need can be measured fairly and equitably. Recommendations from FACTS are used by the Rockford Lutheran School award committee in accordance with its policies to determine the award amount. FACTS is a service that works with families and schools to create successful educational opportunities.  Applications for tuition assistance may be completed online at https://online.factsmgt.com/aid School Code: 39380 The $40.00 processing fee is made payable to FACTS. Failure to pay the processing fee may delay the evaluation.

Questions?
Need help completing your application? Help for parents is available by phone or email on the FACTS website.  Or you can contact Andrea Davis, 815-877-9551 x137 (adavis@rockfordlutheran.org) or Ashley Larson, 815-877-9551 x135 (alarson@rockfordlutheran.org).

Earn credits towards your tuition payments through the Scrip Gift Card program, offered in partnership with RaiseRight (formerly ShopWithScrip). The amount of credit you can earn is only limited by the amount of tuition you owe. You purchase gift cards or certificates for things you already need and buy with retailers you already use and then we share back part of the discount savings with you. Learn more about our Scrip program HERE.

Illinois enacted the Invest In Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program in 2017. This program offers a 75 percent income tax credit to individuals and businesses that contribute to qualified Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). The SGOs then provide scholarships for students whose families meet the income requirements to attend qualified, non-public schools in Illinois. Learn more about the income tax credit scholarship program’s funding, eligibility, benefits and regulations.

Illinois Invest In Kids