Make Room for One More Child

Dear Friends,

As one school year comes to a close and another starts to form, parents are faced with one of the most difficult decisions of the year about their child’s education. Amidst the 2026-2027 calendar dates and registration forms are new tuition agreements: a little more than last year, stretching the budget another three, four, and even five percent.

To attend a Catholic school in the Twin Cities, where the average K–8 tuition costs around $6,000, families are trying to determine whether there is still room in their take-home pay for the education they believe is best for their child.

Some are asking: “Can we keep our child at their Catholic school?”

Tuition continues to rise, even as many family budgets remain stretched. And a school where their child is thriving suddenly feels out of reach. The thought of pulling a child out before 8th grade is painful. But the numbers still have to work.

Ricky Austin is the president of the Aim Higher Foundation.

Other families are asking a different question: “Can we afford to give our child the opportunity to attend Catholic school in the first place?”

There’s something different about a Catholic school: the high-expectations, faith-filled environment, the formation of both mind and character, and the sense that their child will be known and loved.

Parents want the very best for their children. They want to answer “yes” to both questions above. But for a growing number of families, they need help to do so.

At the Aim Higher Foundation, our scholarships, now worth up to $1,500, provide the help many parents need. They’re what keep a child in a school where they’re thriving, or open the door to one where they could.

This coming school year, we'll support more than 3,100 K-8 students, the most in our history. And still, at the time of writing, 234 children are waiting for the scholarship their family needs to make a Catholic education possible.

That’s why we are inviting you to support our first-ever Spring Scholarship Drive and help us make room for one more child. A gift before our fiscal year-end on June 30 will help provide for another student access to a Catholic school, and all the many benefits their parents seek for them.