Tuition Assistance Overview
Yavneh Day School is dedicated to providing a Jewish day school education to every family who desires the opportunity for their child(ren), regardless of financial status. The School appoints a Tuition Assistance Committee to review yearly tuition assistance applications and to make tuition assistance award decisions. The Committee balances the financial need of the families with the financial health of the school.
Tuition Assistance applications for the 2025-2026 school are open. Current Yavneh family applications are due Friday, December 20, 2024 and newly applying family applications are due Friday, January 31, 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Tuition assistance is a grant made to a family who applies and qualifies for assistance. The grant is used to offset the cost of tuition.
Many factors are considered: income, assets, number of dependents, number of children enrolled in tuition-charging schools, earning potential for a spouse, second homes, vacation expenses, and various other financial obligations. Yavneh expects that applicant families will explore a variety of means of financing their child’s education (i.e. loans, the use of personal assets, and assistance from family members) before/in addition to applying for tuition assistance from the school.
Yes. The Tuition Assistance Committee keeps the identity of recipients and the content of tuition assistance applications confidential. The School expects that parents will also respect the confidential nature of the process. Any discussion pertaining to the identity of aid recipients or to the amount of aid awards is considered highly inappropriate and may result in the revocation of an award.
A family’s application for tuition assistance has no bearing on the child’s application for admission. In other words, applying for tuition assistance does not lessen the likelihood that a child will be admitted to Yavneh. The school welcomes applications from all families who desire a Jewish day school education for their child(ren), regardless of their financial situation.
Yavneh Day School believes that all parents have a moral and ethical obligation to contribute to the expense of educating their children, whether or not they have the legal obligation to do so. The assets and income of all parents are required for consideration in making a financial assistance award. All parents are expected to submit a Clarity application and required documents to the Clarity website. If either parent is remarried, the needs analysis considers the assets and earnings of the stepparent in conjunction with the primary parent, keeping in mind the stepparent’s responsibility for his or her own children.
If the non-custodial parent has no contact with the custodial parent or the student(s) [their child(ren)], or it is not in the best interest of the student, the requirement of tuition assistance forms from the non-custodial parent may be waived. The guiding principle is based on “lack of contact” for a period of time, which must be proved by the custodial parent. A letter of verification from a third party, (i.e. attorney, social worker, etc.) will be required.
Tuition assistance must be separately applied for each year. Yavneh understands the importance of continuity in a child’s education. However, with limited funds available for tuition assistance as well as evolving families’ financial needs, it is impossible to guarantee a continuance of tuition assistance. When the school provides the initial year’s tuition assistance for a student, it is the school’s expectation that it will try to maintain a similar level of financial support for that student throughout the student’s entire time at Yavneh Day School given a consistent level of demonstrated parental financial need.
At any point during the cycle, a family can apply for additional tuition assistance if their financial circumstances change. Families are also required to notify the Controller if their financial circumstances improve.
The Tuition Assistance Process
Please direct all tuition assistance-related questions to [email protected].
Financial Aid Application Process
In order to be considered for financial aid, a family must complete the following: The Financial Aid Application through FAST which includes:
- A letter to Yavneh documenting the request for aid as well as explanations for anything not covered by the application.
- All appropriate Tax documents to be submitted directly to FAST, including:
- 2017 W-2s
- 2017 1040 with all filed schedules and attachments
- 2017 Business/Farm Statement (if applicable)
Submitting the Application
- Go to FAST Financial Aid Application
- Click on the prompt to begin the financial aid application. One application is needed per household.
- A password will be assigned so you can return to your application at a later time to finish and submit.
Deadlines for 2019-2020
Financial Aid for School Tuition (FAST)
Customer Service:
877-326-FAST
[email protected]
Please direct all financial aid-related questions to Diana Wilmot, Chief Finance and Operations Officer.
Finanical Aid to Yavneh families is made possible in part from the Jim Joseph Foundation in partnership with our local Jewish Federation and the San Francisco Bureau of Jewish Education.