Thanks for Helping Nancy!

A couple of days ago, I put up a post asking if folks could help Nancy in Puerto Rico who was asking about fees/tuition charged for parish religious education programs. Your response has been very generous! Here are more comments that came in by way of websupport:

Hi Joe – I am a DRE in two parishes at the East End of Long Island which is part of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and I am looking forward to your workshop on Long Island.In the smallest parish (180 students in RE, we charge $65 for the year with a cap of $85 per family; in addition we charge an extra $25 for the sacrament years); in the larger parish (300 students – the fee is $85 per student with a cap of $100 per family; we charge $25 for First Communion Children; and $85 for the sacrament of Confirmation which includes a retreat).Hope this helps.God Bless!Suzanne

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Here’s the breakdown at my home parish, St. Joseph, Mechanicsburg, PA

Tuition is $35.00 for Preschool per child
$50.00 1 Child grades 1-8
$75.00 2 Children
$95.00 3 Children or more

In addition there is a Sacramental fee to cover the cost of extras including a retreat and lunch, and a rented robe for Confirmation. First Eucharist $20.00 per child. Confirmation $40.00 per child

Shari Juliana, Mechanicsburg, PA

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Our tuition is graduated based on number of children.If you want to email me joanne@barts.org, I’ll share figures.

Blessings, Joanne

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We have approximately 135 students in our program and we charge $16.00 per student. I have a great budget, $10,000.00 with the expectation that $5000 will come back through tuition, diocesan assessments and donations. It works well for me.

Hope that helps.Mary

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The range of tuition in Chester County, PA is from $30/student at the low end up to $140 per student at the high end. Most parishes are in the $120-$140 range. Some parishes charge a set fee for the first child and slight reductions for the 2nd and so on down the line. The parish in which I minister charges $135 for one child, $235 for two children, and $335 for 3 or more children in a family. Generally, this covers textbooks and basic supplies for all students and some extras for Catechists. A first for us in the coming year will be a charge of half tuituon for children of Catechists. There have been mixed opinions on this from the Catechists. I hope this helps a bit. Thanks for asking.

Kathy Thomas, DRE, St. Joseph – Downingtown

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Hi, I’m a DRE in the Diocese of Fall River and we just raised our fee this year from $25 to $30.

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We are in San Diego,Calif. And we charge $75.00 per student. That covers books, supplies, crafts etc. for the whole year. We also allow our catechists children to attend free. They give the gift of time and talent and we are so thankful.

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Wow! We have a Christian Formation Advisory Committee as we are no longer allowed to have aboardper the Archdiocesan rules. This committee has lost some members over the years and we are trying to increase our membership. I am in a parish just outside of Milwaukee, in Waukesha County. Our fees for CFM are $110 per student with a $300 family max for three year olds through Grade 11. We charge $30 for sacramental fees (collected in Grade 2). We have a First Communion Retreat which is optional and at no cost. We have a sophomore retreat which is $35 and a junior retreat (10th and 11th are in our Confirmation program) which is $135, both in addition to tuition. Our teachers pay for little or nothing out of pocket.

Our CFAC committee presently helps with curriculum and fund raising. We have an active SCRIP fundraising program as well as an annual kringle sale. We are able to purchase additional supplies (i.e., DVD’s, hardware such as a laptop/projector set up, books, AV items, and more) with our fund raising monies. We are very fortunate and very blessed. I know it doesn’t always work for parishes in other parts of the world. However, I have found that if you create and provide the materials for the catechists, retention of the catechists is much easier. We have approximately 800 students in our programs plus another 200 + in our day school so we are dealing with large numbers. Hope this helps!

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At St. James in Sewickley, PA, we charge a book and materials fee of $45 for one child, $65 for 2 and $75 for 3 or more children.Fees are waived for anyone in financial need. -Karen Conroy

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Hi Joe, I’m probably late in sending my info regarding fees, but here goes, anyway. We have:

Sunday School for 3, 4, and 5 year olds @ $30.00 per child

PSR for K-12 @$30.00 per child

Home Study Option for K-12 @ $30.00 per child

Sacramental Preparation (I prepare the parents who prepare their children)
Penance and Reconciliation for 6 year olds and up $20.00

Eucharist for 7year olds and up $20.00

Confirmation for 8 year olds and up $20.00

This includes materials and a retreat experience at no extra charge for each Sacrament. We do not charge for parents preparing for the baptism of their infants or young children, nor do we charge for those in the RCIA process, regardless of age. Hope this is helpful. We wait in joyful hope for the coming of your brother, Thomas, as our new Bishop! Thanks, Marsha Chomko, Pastoral Associate for Faith Formation, St. Jerome Catholic Church, Troy, IL

About Joe Paprocki 2747 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

2 Comments on Thanks for Helping Nancy!

  1. I wonder if all parishes on military bases do not charge any fees for CCD? Is my parish the only one that does not charge for CCD? We are civilians (never have been military) and our family is quite shocked by how much some CCD programs charge. :0

    Does charging for CCD help keep absenteeism down among students?

    • I am the Confirmation teacher for our parish in North Carolina and we do not charge any fees for any religious education classess. I have been teaching many different religious education classes for over 15 years both children and adults and the only time we charged anything was with the adults for the exact price of a book we were using. When we do retreats the youth do fund raising projects to pay for those and it and when they do not make enough the church pitches in the difference.

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