At Great Hearts Christos we aim to answer your questions regarding financial aid. If you don’t see your questions listed in our FAQ below, please submit it to us and we will do our best to answer it for you.
An Arizona resident donates to an STO and can recommend a school or student(s) as the recipient(s). The donor receives a state tax credit document and gets those funds back, dollar for dollar, after their state taxes are filed. Corporations can also donate. Families apply for scholarships from the STOs and the STOs issue notices of awards on a quarterly or monthly basis.
Ask your friends and family! Families have used a variety of methods from sending a text, making a phone call, sending postcards, or posting on social media. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends are usually happy to donate to an STO for tax credit and recommend your child. Also, the Arizona Leadership Foundation has already raised tax credit contributions from corporations that will be available to scholarship lower income Christos families.
• Anyone: Any K-12 Arizona student → You qualify for an ORIGINAL Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship • Public school transfer: Your student attended a public school (district or charter) for 90 days in the prior year then transferred to a private school → You qualify for an ORIGINAL or SWITCHER Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship • Private Kindergartner: Your student is currently enrolled in Kindergarten at a private school → You qualify for an ORIGINAL or SWITCHER Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship • Military: Your student is a dependent of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces who are stationed in Arizona under military orders → You qualify for an ORIGINAL or SWITCHER Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship • Previous recipient: Your student previously received a Switcher or Corporate Scholarship in a prior year and has attended the private school continuously since then → You qualify for an ORIGINAL or SWITCHER Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship • Homeschooler: Your student was homeschooled immediately before they enrolled in a private school → You qualify for an ORIGINAL or SWITCHER Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship • New resident: Your student moved to Arizona from out of state immediately prior to enrolling in a private school → You qualify for an ORIGINAL or SWITCHER Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship • Former ESA recipient: Your student was in the Arizona ESA program and did not renew their contract or has left the program in order to accept a scholarship from an STO → You qualify for an ORIGINAL or SWITCHER Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship • You are low-income, plus… If your total household income is 185% or less of the income set by FRPL (free and reduced price lunch) guidelines AND your child is either 1) currently enrolled in private school Kindergarten, 2) the dependent of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces stationed in Arizona, 3) a previous STO recipient, or 4) a Pre-K student with a disability who has an IEP or MET from the public school district and attends a private school that provides services for their disability, or 5) a “switcher” → You qualify for an ORIGINAL or “Corporate Low Income” Tax Credit Scholarship. • Current or former foster care student: If your student was or is currently placed by the Arizona Foster Care system at any time prior to high school graduation → You qualify for an ORIGINAL Tax Credit Scholarship or a Corporate Displaced Student or Student with Disabilities Tax Credit (DD STO). • Student with a disability (IEP, 504, or MET): You will need to provide a copy of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP), 504 Plan, or the Multidisciplinary Education Team (MET) report document that was issued by an Arizona public school. Out - of - state documents do not qualify. The documents do not have to be current. → You qualify for an ORIGINAL Tax Credit Scholarship or a Corporate Displaced Student or Student with Disabilities Tax Credit (DD STO).
It depends on the scholarship you choose/qualify for and how much recommended dollars have been given to any STO for your family or school. You can see more information about this in the links above (beneath each type of scholarship).
At this time, you can only use one or the other, they cannot be used concurrently. You can use them at different times as long as they do not overlap in the same Quarter. For example, some families utilize an STO in the fall school year, and an ESA in the Spring, but it is not recommended.
Stacking means using more than one STO scholarship to pay your tuition. Yes, you can do this, and you would begin by applying to more than one STO at the same time.
No, unfortunately you cannot recommend your own child. But you can ask grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends to recommend them! Note that you can donate to an STO and recommend Great Hearts Christos, since you can’t recommend your child.
No. You cannot make an agreement with a friend to trade STO recommendations.
You go through the same process as any ESA applicant! However, you can’t accept both in the same quarter. For example, if your child is on an STO in Quarters 1 and 2 and you wanted to switch to an ESA, you can’t accept it until Quarter 3.
Let Christos know that you are no longer going to receive STO funds so they can ensure any funds that come to the school for your child are returned to the issuing STO. You will also want to let the STO know as well. Then, apply for an ESA and begin paying your tuition bills with your ESA through the online “pay vendor” option and select our school.