Financial Aid

There is a limited amount of tuition(not fees) assistance at Northern Dutchess ChristianSchool. If you anticipate a genuine need for tuition assistance you must—by April 1— complete a Tuition Assistance Application (available in the office) and send it to Northern Dutchess, and complete a Family Financial Needs Assessment and mail to FFNA, with a small fee. Additional documentation may be requested by the NDCS Financial Aid Committee. Families usually will be informed of their eligibility for tuition assistance by May 30. All applications for tuition assistance mailed by April 1 will be given equal consideration. Applications mailed after that date will be considered on a first-come first-served basis, until the funds are depleted.

The Financial Aid Application is required of any student requesting tuition assistance. Returning students must re-apply for assistance each year. In order for the school to be as helpful as possible to the largest number of families, tuition assistance generally will be limited to 10-40% of the year’s tuition bills, and will rarely exceed 50% of total tuition. Northern Dutchess cannot legally require recipients of financial aid to donate their services or work a certain number of hours unless the traded tuition is reported as income to the IRS. At this point in time, most of the available tuition assistance is in the form of “unfunded discounts,” meaning that the school simply does not make the money it gives in grants.

Children of members of Northern Dutchess Bible Church (as defined by NDBC) receive an automatic 10% discount on tuition, calculated after all other discounts or awards have been applied. In certain cases, this discount may not be taken by families receiving a large tuition assistance grant from the Financial Aid Committee.

Susan L. Hardman Scholarship

Each spring, the school nominates and selects a few students to receive a Susan L. Hardman Scholarship for the following year. Students do not apply for this award.

This scholarshipwas established in memory of Sue Hardman, a 4th grade teacher at Northern Dutchess Christian School who passed away at the end of the 1998-1999 school year, after a brief illness. Sue, who was beloved both by her students and colleagues, dedicated her life to the godly education of boys and girls at Northern Dutchess. Her commitment to this ministry was an inspiration to all who were blessed to know her.

The criteria for the annual award were established as follows. The student:

• will be an academic “achiever”, not necessarily a straight-A student.
• will demonstrate a good work ethic and diligent effort.
• will give evidence of a good Christian characterand testimony.
• will demonstrate positive leadership.

In addition, the following items also may be given consideration. It is more likely that the student will receive the award if he/she:

• is a returning student.
• has demonstrated financial need, but is in good financial standing with the school.
• belongs to a family which is a member of Northern Dutchess Bible Church.
• is part of a family with several other brothers and sisters at NDCS.

The names of all recipients will be engraved on a plaque displayed at the school.