Good morning, Kristin,

In his homily on Sunday’s Gospel, where Jesus heals a deaf man, Fr. Fish referenced The Miracle Worker—specifically the water scene where Helen Keller realizes that things have names, unlocking a new world for her.

How often do we witness similar miracles in our schools? While not as dramatic as watching a child learn to read, as teachers, we experience the daily miracle of learning firsthand. Beyond academics, we also witness moments when students discover something profound about their faith or relationship with God.

Whether it’s my 3-year-old daughter singing “God loves me” on her walk to school, or a conversation with a high school junior connecting faith with service, these moments remind us of the profound impact our schools have on the lives of those we serve.

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Safe Environment Reminders

As the school year begins, it's critical that we all adhere to our safe environment policies to maintain safe, healthy, and nurturing learning environments. With many new employees and volunteers, please ensure that everyone has an up-to-date background check and is compliant with Safe Environment training.

If any concerns related to safe environment arise involving a student, staff member, or volunteer, please contact our office immediately.

Thank you for your commitment to this important policy.

With gratitude, 

NICHOLAS FORD | Superintendent

Office for Catholic Schools | Archdiocese of Seattle

Fulcrum Impact Day

We are excited to introduce a new initiative we are launching this fall on Monday, October 28 and Tuesday, October 29: Fulcrum’s Impact Day(s). 

Over the course of these two days, a Fulcrum staff member, board member, or ambassador will visit each of your schools to personally present a summary of Fulcrum’s support provided to your individual school along with an oversized ‘faux’ check showcasing the amount of tuition assistance Fulcrum donors are providing families this year. The check will be delivered to the principal by the Fulcrum rep, we will take a couple photos for social media posts, and we hope you will hang the ‘check’ in your school for the fall. Our hope is to showcase our support locally at each school and make the impact more relevant within your community. 

All arrangements will be made by our staff team, and we will provide you with the name/s of the persons visiting your school, the date, and the approximate time of their arrival. The visit should take approximately 10-15 minutes as we do not intend to disrupt your busy school day. 

More details will follow in the Keystone and via email. Thank you for noting these dates on your calendar. If you have any questions, please contact Amy Hall at hall.amy@fulcrumfoundation.org or 206.226.5679.

Assign a Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) Coordinator Today

Please use this linked form to designate a TAP Coordinator as the main contact for all questions related to the Fulcrum's Tuition Assistance Program for the 24-25 school year. For inquiries, email Susan Ocoma or call 206.748.7988.

Fulcrum New Student Tuition Assistance Grant Program 2024-2025 – Deadline September 30th 

Fulcrum’s New Student Tuition Assistance Program, formerly known as Rolling Tuition Assistance Program (RTAP), is currently open. The deadline to submit grant requests for this program is September 30, 2024. This program is open to all schools that participate in the Fulcrum Foundation Tuition Assistance Grant Program, commonly known as TAP.

This program is different than TAP in that families do not apply for the program on their own. Schools administer this program at the local level and determine whether a family qualifies using a form provided by Fulcrum. In short, a family must: 

• be new to Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Seattle for the 2024-2025 school year (transfer students from other Catholic schools in the Archdiocese are not eligible)
• not have been awarded a Fulcrum TAP grant for 2024-2025
• qualify for the Federal Reduced Lunch Program
• students awarded grants must be in grades K-8 

After a school has determined that a family qualifies, they will submit the form to Fulcrum via email. Grants in the amount of $1,000 each are then approved by Fulcrum on a first come, first served basis until a school has met its max number of grants (3) or program funding has been exhausted for the year ($70,000 total). We will accept grant requests from schools from March 25, 2024, through September 30, 2024.

LINK to Program Overview

LINK to Grant Request Form 

It’s important to note that these are one-time grants for students that are new to the school. They are not renewable. In future years, families are expected to apply to the Fulcrum Foundation Tuition Assistance Grant Program (TAP) via FACTS which they may or may not qualify for based on their current financial information in relation to the total pool of applicants. 

Questions? Contact Susan Ocoma at 206.748.7988 or susan.ocoma@fulcrumfoundation.org.