Dear Our Lady of Peace Family,

As of last week, we got final details about changes to the EdChoice program. While we are working hard to get this new information out to our current school families, we wanted to bring the entire parish in the loop.

The updated legislation is good news for every parent who wants to make quality education a high priority for their children, and good news for our parish in terms of how we fund our school. The new details will no doubt cause some confusion in the coming weeks, so it’s our goal to clarify and simplify the information so every OLP family can take advantage of this opportunity.

What is EdChoice? The Educational Choice Scholarship (EdChoice) Program provides students from designated public schools the opportunity to attend participating private schools. The program also provides students who are entering Kindergarten through 12th grade scholarship opportunities based on their household income level. Although we’ve heard the concern that accepting EdChoice money comes with “strings attached” and waters down Catholic education, this has not been our experience. We have always accepted EdChoice funding, and we’ve never been asked to compromise our identity in Christ Jesus and in His Church. If anything, we’ve found that the program only enriches our school and opens new opportunities for evangelization.

As of July 4, the scope of the EdChoice voucher program has expanded. Every family who is interested in sending their children to OLP school (whether they currently attend or not) can and should apply for EdChoice, regardless of your income or membership or non-membership in Our Lady of Peace Parish. The only exception is students on the Jon Peterson or Autism Scholarships. (Those students will be contacted directly by our office).

Why apply? If you look at the enclosed flyer, you’ll find a chart that shows the amount available according to income. You’ll notice that everyone will have some of their tuition dollars paid for by the state. For some families, this will actually reduce your out-of-pocket expenses for tuition for this school year. No family will have their out-of-pocket dollars increased.

If you are a current parish member and not on EdChoice, we encourage you to apply. Our Lady of Peace Parish currently pays $2,400 per student for parish members for each child’s education. By applying for the EdChoice program, you will help reduce the financial burden on the parish, allowing it to continue to grow and thrive.

How to Apply/Deadline for Application To apply, go online to https://bit.ly/ohioedchoice. This application should be returned to the school office no later than Friday, August 4. Along with the application, please provide a birth certificate (copy is acceptable) and proof of address (we recommend your AEP bill). Getting these by August 4 will allow us time to process in time for the beginning of the school year. We need one application per student.

There is also an online income verification process: https://safe.ode.state.oh.us/portal. Your application will not be finalized until this is completed and submitted. The state only needs one form per family.

Please see the insert in this weekend’s bulletin for detailed information about EdChoice. Contact the school office if you have any questions.

Remember, this is a win-win proposition for you, the parish, and the school!

Under the protection of Our Lady of Peace,

Jim Silcott & Fr. Dooley