After the financial crisis that followed the 2020 Beirut port explosion, life was challenging for Lara Bido Bado and her family.
When immigration papers permitting them to move from Lebanon to the United States came through, they made the difficult decision to leave their home.
Bado dreamed that her three children would be able to attend Catholic school in the U.S., as they had in Lebanon. But financially it seemed out of reach. Then they received word they were approved for financial aid, thanks to the Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credit. Now, the children attend their parish school, St. Andrew the Apostle School in Clifton, and Bado works there as an instructional assistant. “I’m really proud and truly grateful to see (my children) grow surrounded by discipline, kindness and faith,” she said.
The Bado children are three of the nearly 600 students who attend diocesan Catholic schools with the help of the tax credit scholarships. Through the program, when a donor gives to a fund such as the Diocese of Arlington Scholarship Foundation, they receive a 65 percent tax credit, and students receive need-based tuition assistance. “If you give $1,000, you get to reduce your (state) income tax bill by $650,” said Peter de Keratry, the diocesan chief development officer. This school year, $2.8 million was distributed to diocesan schools through the foundation.
The program is very helpful to schools and families, said Joseph Vorbach, diocesan superintendent of schools. “Principals have shared with me how deeply transformative it has been,” he said. As the costs of running a Catholic school have increased, administrators have worked to find new ways to keep Catholic education as affordable as possible, and this fund plays a big part, said Vorbach. “People who make a commitment to give some of their philanthropic dollars to support Catholic education, as the superintendent, I can say we’re deeply appreciative of that.”
Vorbach encourages more Catholics to consider donating. “When we increase the number of people participating, we are signaling the value and importance of this scholarship to the wider community,” he said. It’s a powerful way to support families in need, said de Keratry. “Families that want that Christ-centered educational experience to help their kids become saints, they’ll sacrifice tremendously,” he said. “They’ll drive an old car, they’ll work an extra job to help their kids get into the right school, but we the Catholic community need to step up and help them provide that opportunity for their children, and that’s what the scholarship program is all about.”
Both Laura Dunneback and her husband work as teachers, so they didn’t think sending their four children to Catholic school would be possible. But after she began working at Holy Cross Academy in Fredericksburg, they decided they wanted to send their children there. Help from the scholarship foundation made it possible. “I get emotional because this is nothing I could have ever asked for and it’s the biggest gift,” said Dunneback. “When (my kids) get out of the car in the morning, they run to their friends and their teachers. We are incredibly blessed to all be here. Our favorite thing ever is the fact we get to learn about God.”
Samuel Hernandez grew up dreaming of attending St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School in Woodbridge. The scholarship made it possible, said his mother, Ruby Alvarado, through a Spanish-speaking translator. Alvarado loves everything about the school, from the faith-filled environment to the fact that her first grader can read in English and Spanish. “I’m very happy — it’s a gift from God for my family,” she said. “I’m thankful to God and the people who help.”
Maraist is a freelancer from Reston.
Find out more
Go to arlingtondiocese.org/catholic-schools/our-schools/tuition-assistance/diocesan-scholarship-foundation.
