Public education is rooted in the promise of equal opportunity, but for too many children who live near poverty or for students with certain special needs, those opportunities are out of reach. The Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program was created in Illinois to benefit children whose educational options are limited by household income. The scholarships provide parents a way to help their children find success.

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Scholarships are granted through Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs).  Two SGOs that work with St. Ailbe are Big Shoulders Fund SGO and Empower Illinois.  To check if you qualify, please see the income chart to the right.  Below the qualifying income levels, you will see the amount of tuition scholarship that would be awarded based on income.  All St. Ailbe families who qualify should APPLY TO BOTH.  Many times, funds are designated to specific schools through specific SGOs.  One SGO may have more money designated or the applicant may have been quicker on one application over the other.  While a student may be awarded a scholarship from both SGOs, families can only accept one and must decline the other.  Because all SGOs use the same income levels to award the same percentage of tuition, which SGO is accepted will not affect the amount.

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Maybe most critical to understand, TIMING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR THOSE THAT QUALIFY.  Timestamps will go to the millisecond.  A sneeze that delays a click can change whether or not you receive an award.  You will want to be prepared and have access to a computer to make sure this can be done efficiently.  If you know someone who will type quicker than you, ask that person to help you out. Empower Illinois has changed the way their application process will go.  At 6:30 pm, applicants will be able to fill out the initial :information, with the submission process not beginning until 7:00pm.  This means many people will be prepared to click Submit as soon as the clock strikes 7:00.  Empower will definitely come down to the millisecond for the awarding of scholarships.  Please be prepared to hit submit immediately.

 

The application to get timestamped that puts you in a "line" for a scholarship, for both SGOs, is quick.  The longer part, where information needs to be uploaded, is after that initial timestamp.  You'll need to have the information ready to go, but it's the basic information that you'll be trying to get in as quickly as possible.  If you need help getting any information ready or scanned, please contact the school!  We are more than happy to help out.  Please do this before the day of the application.

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If you need access to a computer, please call St. Ailbe at 773-734-1386.  We can arrange to have a computer available.  

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Any questions about the application process or information needed can be directed to 773-734-1386. 

 

Everyone at St. Ailbe is on your side- we want you to receive this scholarship, so anything we can do to help, just let us know!  That being said, if you do not receive a tax credit scholarship, know that we have scholarship and aid available through other avenues to ensure that the quality, values based education that we provide is truly accessible to all students.