The Toronto Heschel School and the UJA are committed to ensuring that every family has the opportunity for their children to receive an affordable Jewish education.
Just before Pesach this March, the UJA announced a new scholarship program that aims to lower the cost of Jewish day school tuition for many families who wouldn’t have previously qualified for assistance.
Based on household income and circumstances, the program specifies a maximum tuition fee you will pay for up to three children simultaneously enrolled between JK and Grade 8 at an elementary Jewish day school in Toronto. As such, the benefits of this scholarship increase with the number of children enrolled.
Who is eligible for this new scholarship?
The Generations Trust was developed for middle income families who previously may not have qualified for the existing JCAP tuition assistance program but may find day school tuition a significant burden. We are thrilled that families who may have chosen the public school system for financial reasons should now be able to comfortably send their children to The Toronto Heschel School.
How do we know if we qualify?
The Generations Trust website has an anonymous, easy-to-use online calculator that allows families to calculate what their total day school costs would be. The inputs include family income, assets, and the number of children that you will have enrolled in elementary Jewish day school this fall.
As a very basic rule of thumb, families whose total income is less than $150,000 would likely apply for JCAP, and those with income between $150,000 and $300,000 could potentially qualify for Generations Trust. These are rough estimations only, assuming average family assets and expenses, and can vary based on all of the required inputs.
If you’re not sure which program to apply for, give the Generations Trust online calculator a try. Families who have been receiving tuition assistance in the regular subsidy application process are asked to first try the Generations Trust subsidy. If the calculator informs you that your family may qualify for UJA’s regular tuition program, please contact Mark Abramsohn here at Heschel about applying for JCAP, which remains available.
Is this program limited to a single year?
When a family is thinking about Jewish day school for their kids, this decision must be taken considering tuition not just for this school year, but for many school years to come. As such, once approved, there will be a simple process to verify financial information annually, enabling families to anticipate their tuition costs in the coming years, as well.
Which schools are participating in the Generations Trust?
There are nine day schools participating in the scholarship program, including: Associated Hebrew Schools, Bialik Hebrew Day School, Eitz Chaim Schools, The Joe Dwek Ohr HaEmet Sephardic School, The Leo Baeck Day School, Netivot HaTorah Day School, Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School, Robbins Hebrew Academy, and, of course, The Toronto Heschel School.
How and when do we apply?
The deadline for current Heschel families to submit their Generations Trust Scholarship application is Monday, May 31, 2021.
You can find the application HERE.
Want to learn more?
UJA will be holding a community-wide virtual information session about the Generations Trust Scholarship on Wednesday, May 19, 2021 from 8:00 to 9:00 pm. Both current and prospective families are invited to attend, as well as anyone else in the community who is interested in learning more about the scholarship. Please register for this event HERE.
For more information, visit https://generationstrust.ca/.
