What tuition assistance does the Diocese of Palm Beach offer Catholic school families?
The Diocese of Palm Beach lists several funds for Catholic school families, and each one is administered through the school rather than the diocese's central office. They include the Lumen Christi Appeal and January Second Collection, the Helping Hands Scholarship Fund, the Lester N. Stockard Scholarships and the Norma T. Pace Scholarships.
The diocese's affordability page does not give deadlines or dollar amounts for any of them, and it says the funds are allocated to schools, which choose recipients. Contact the principal or business office.
Are there Catholic high school scholarships in the Diocese of Palm Beach?
Yes, the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Distinguished Scholars award is for academically gifted students with financial need entering Saint John Paul II Academy in Boca Raton, Cardinal Newman in West Palm Beach, or John Carroll in Fort Pierce. It lasts four years, and recipients must keep a GPA of at least 3.0 and complete 25 community service hours a year.
Fort Pierce is in St. Lucie County, outside this site's coverage, so a Palm Beach family would use the first two. The Stockard scholarships are for new students entering a Palm Beach County Catholic school, with preference for grades 5-8.
Can a family use the state scholarship and diocesan aid together at a Catholic school in Palm Beach County?
The diocese's affordability page does not say how its aid combines with state scholarships, so the answer is to ask the school's business office. The usual order is the state award first, then any parishioner or sibling pricing, then need-based aid.
12 of the 12 Catholic schools in the Palm Beach district carry the FTC/FES-EO flag in the October 28, 2026 directory. Check the school's page here before assuming it takes the scholarship.
What is diocesan tuition aid, and what is it not?
The short version: funds allocated to individual schools, which choose recipients, and not a central application that guarantees an award.
| It is | It is not |
|---|---|
| Funds allocated to individual schools, which choose recipients | A central application that guarantees an award |
| Usually layered on top of the state scholarship | A replacement for the state scholarship |
| Set by each school's financial-aid process | A published dollar amount per student |