Since 1981, Tri-County Scholarship Fund has been helping financially disadvantaged students to achieve academic success. In those thirty-four years, the Fund has awarded more than 30,000 scholarships to K-12 students who live in Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties, given regardless of race, religion, or national origin. Those scholarships, worth more than $23.5 million dollars, have enabled children to obtain quality, values-based education through accredited private and parochial schools.
Four years ago, the Fund began a new initiative called the Freedom Scholars program. Partnering with De Paul Catholic High School in Wayne, the Freedom Scholars program awarded much larger scholarships to incoming freshmen of high academic achievement and potential. For these gifted students, the Fund contributed generously and its donations were matched 100% by De Paul, leaving a minimal balance on tuition costs for parents to pay. Since 2011, the program has branched out to six other private high schools.
The Freedom Scholars program is robust. Once they arrive at the private high school of their choice, Freedom Scholars have designated mentors who are senior staff or faculty members. Mentors meet monthly with their students to assess progress and offer encouragement. Tutoring is available to all Freedom Scholars, along with college testing preparation in Junior year and college essay preparation in Senior year.
In June, the first group of six Freedom Scholars will graduate from De Paul. Two of them will head to Pace University in New York, while the others will attend Drew, Montclair State, Rowan and Monmouth universities. Speaking of the Freedom Scholars program, Joseph Tweed, President of De Paul said: “We are grateful to be a part of the Freedom Scholars Program and to partner with the Tri-County Scholarship Fund to help young men and women achieve their academic goals.”
The Board of Trustees of Tri-County Scholarship Fund is confident that this program will enable many area children in the area to soar to the heights of academic and personal accomplishment, and is working diligently to ensure its success.
For more information on Freedom Scholars and the Tri-County Scholarship Fund, please visit the website at www.tcsfund.org or call 973 984-9600.