Kindergarten Round Up

Dear Parents of Potential Kindergartners,

It’s not too early to start thinking about the 2020-2021 school year. If you are thinking about Kindergarten for your child, I have a few good reasons to consider Risen Savior that I would like to share with you.

You may be aware that Risen Savior has a Kindergarten program taught by Ms. Skousen. Our program is a little different than the public schools. The main one is we continue your child’s religious education, giving them a stronger foundation for the “real world”. The Kindergarten is a natural extension of our early childhood program, our ministry to working families.

Our Kindergarten tuition can be offset by tax credits through the Arizona Christian Scholarship Tuition Organization (ACSTO). Arizona state laws allow for people to redirect their tax dollars to support K-12 private education. Our congregation has been doing this for over 10 years now. The congregation members usually donate to the school and the ACSTO board selects families with completed applications. Parents can inform their friends and other family members to donate specifically to their child. This is a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, vastly different than tax deductions. The state will reduce your tax liability by the amount you donate up to the allowed maximum, which varies by how you file (i.e. a married couple filing jointly is allowed $2,365).

The reason this is timely is that if you have your child registered for Kindergarten at Risen Savior and have an application on file with ACSTO by March 31^st, your child will be eligible to receive funds disbursed in May. This is usually the biggest disbursement of the year.

Here are some other benefits of Risen Savior’s Kindergarten:

• Children who are 5 years old by December 31st are eligible, if they show signs of Kindergarten Readiness.
• The school year is August 3^rd – May 28^th, with only one week of break between Christmas and New Year’s. Chandler has over 6 weeks of breaks, which can be both difficult and expensive for families to arrange for care.
• Our Extended Day cost is currently $195/mo, about half of what Chandler Unified charges. This fee allows children to stay from 7am – 6pm every day.

If you are considering Risen Savior for Kindergarten, you are invited to the virtual Kindergarten Round-Up on Tuesday, February 16^th at 6:30pm. If you decide to enroll your child, complete the school’s application form and bring/send it to the front office. Then complete the ACSTO application at www.acsto.org to be eligible for the next ACSTO distribution.

Joyfully in His Service,

Director of Early Childhood Education