FAQ'S
What does being a Partner Sponsor Mean? Fair share tuition at Praise Academy is determined by reviewing families’ financial situation and determining how much they can pay. At Praise Academy, the cost of tuition is $7,000. With 100% of our students coming from low income homes, the partner-sponsorship amount covers approximately 75% of the cost of educating a student. This amount does not include other costs such as food, building, maintenance, etc.
What is the student-sponsor relationship like? You will receive a prayer card with your student’s picture as well as information about them and two times a year, sponsors will receive personal handwritten letters from their students’ as well as teachers comments.
Can I request a specific student? Louisiana law does not allow us to let you specify the student. A student will be provided for you randomly.
Will I always have the same student? Due to socio-economic challenges of our students and their families, they often live transient lives. Housing and job changes are factors that affect schooling. Our goal is to help the student and their families navigate through difficult changes but at times, student do end up leaving Praise Academy. If this happens, you will be given a new student to sponsor and pray for.
Can I come visit my sponsored student? Yes, two times a year we will have an open house which will include lunch. This will be a time to come visit your student and see what they are learning. You will hear testimonies and a report given by our head of school, Joan Pingel. You will receive information on our sponsor visit days.
Can I give gifts to my sponsored student? No. We ask that you do not give additional gifts or money to your sponsored student. If you wish to make an additional donation, we ask that you send it to the school and we will apply your generous donation to a specific need the school may have. If you have a specific request, for example, you wish to help with breakfast, lunches or snacks, we can certainly apply that additional donation to that specific request.
Are there other ways for me to get involved at Praise Academy? Yes, we welcome any volunteer time you may have. For example, every morning we have a reading workshop where the students read to a specific adult. The students love reading workshop and since we have implemented this new program, the children’s reading levels have greatly improved.
How long will my partner-sponsorship last? Ideally, we would welcome partners to support their sponsored student until he or she graduates from Praise Academy. However, we understand that circumstances in life changes and sponsors can discontinue this program at any time.