Our Mission
Grand Rapids Christian Schools mission is to prepare students to be effective servants of Jesus Christ in contemporary society. In continuous operation since 1889, Grand Rapids Christian Schools serves 2,450 preschool through high school students throughout the metropolitan Grand Rapids area—the largest private, association-governed school system in Michigan.

Grand Rapids Christian Schools is committed to keeping Christian education accessible, regardless of family income, and offers highly experienced and well-educated teachers, low student-to-teacher ratios, and high quality educational programs.

2008-09 School Year

Tax Deductible Donations
* Parents/guardians are asked to pay the Requested Tuition per student, which includes the full cost of tuition, including all program enhancement fees (grades 6–8: $90/student and grades 9–12: $115/student), support for tuition assistance, capital needs, debt service, and the New 2 You Shoppe. Parents who pay the Requested Tuition will receive a receipt acknowledging a tax-deductible gift of $1,440 per student.

** Parents paying Required Tuition are asked to consider making tax-deductible donations, based on the following per student amounts. Parents will receive a receipt acknowledging their tax-deductible gifts.

1. Add $650 per child to support capital needs and debt service.
2. Add $525 per child to support tuition assistance.
3. Add $140 per child to support New 2 You Shoppe.
4. Add $125 per child to support GRCS Foundation.

Educational Support Services
Parents/guardians have the opportunity to add $25 or more per child to support families whose children receive Educational Support Services. This gift is also tax deductible.

Tuition Assistance
Local Church Support – Tuition assistance is available to families from a number of local churches that provide assistance to their families who have children in the Christian schools.

Preschool to Free School – This enrollment initiative offers a $500 tuition certificate to preschool parents who enroll their child in kindergarten and an additional $500 tuition certificate to those same parents to apply toward their child’s first grade tuition a year later. We believe this program helps parents of young children better afford Christian education, assisting families as they begin their tuition commitments.

The Grand Rapids Christian School's Tuition Assistance Fund provides assistance to families whose church does not. To apply for assistance through Grand Rapids Christian Schools, parents must complete a Grant & Aid application and submit it to FACTS Management Company. There is a $20 fee, payable to FACTS, to apply. Please note: our tuition assistance program applies to children enrolled in Kindergarten through 12th grade. It does not apply to students enrolled in preschool.

TRIP – Tuition Reduction Incentive Program is an easy way to reduce the Family Commitment. All current and future families, regardless of income, are eligible to participate in TRIP. Families who use TRIP can potentially reduce their tuition by hundreds of dollars each year simply by purchasing gift certificates at face value for goods and services that they purchase every day (gas, groceries, clothing, etc.). As parents buy the certificates, a percentage of the purchase is credited to the family's TRIP account. The percentage varies depending on the business, but ranges from 2% to 20%. Twice a year, the accumulated credits in the TRIP account are applied to the family's tuition account. Because TRIP credits are carried forward until parents elect to use them, families can begin earning TRIP credits before children are actually enrolled in one of our schools. Also, other family and friends can help out by purchasing TRIP certificates and having their credits applied to the family’s tuition account. For additional information about TRIP and how to use it to reduce the Family Commitment, visit http://www.grcs.org/about/trip.html or http://www.grtrip.org. You can also call the TRIP office at 616.574.6347.

Additional Fees
Two additional fees are not included in enrollment, but are assessed and billed to families to whom they apply after the school year has started. The first fee is an Early Hour Fee of $100 per semester per student, which applies only to high school students who are enrolled in an Early Hour class and is billed after class registration has been completed. The second fee is a Transportation Fee of $550 per family, which applies only to those families using GRCS transportation, and is billed once we have confirmed transportation usage in September.

Questions
Families with students interested in attending Grand Rapids Christian Schools can apply for enrollment by contacting Eric Burgess, Director of Student Recruitment and Admissions, at 616-574-6340 or email eburgess@grcs.org.

For a printable PDF of this “tuition page” please click here.

Grand Rapids Christian Schools accept enrollment without discrimination as to race, color, sex, or national origin. All rights and privileges are afforded to all students.