CHARLOTTE — New student enrollment applications for North Carolina Opportunity Scholarships for the 2026-2027 school year will open Monday, Feb. 2 – making a Catholic school education more accessible for thousands of children across the diocese.
Families with students enrolled or wanting to enroll in any of the Diocese of Charlotte’s 20 Catholic schools qualify regardless of income and are strongly encouraged to apply.
“It has definitely provided more opportunity across our diocese for a lot of our parents who have wanted to have the ability to come to our schools,” Superintendent Dr. Greg Monroe said. “It has also allowed a lot of our families to put money they used to have to go towards tuition to other essentials. So, it is improving the quality of life by freeing up $2,000, $3,000 or $6,000.”
The priority deadline for new applications is Monday, March 2. Renewal applications for students previously funded under the school voucher program are being updated in the North Carolina Education Assistance Authority’s (NCSEAA) “MyPortal” at the end of January. Parents have until Thursday, April 16, to renew their existing vouchers.
During the 2025-2026 year, Opportunity Scholarships provided a total of $14,896,201 in funding thus far for Diocese of Charlotte Schools, helping families at all income levels with significant financial assistance toward school tuition and fees for grades K-12. Statewide so far, 104,599 reported private school students throughout the state received a total of $291.8 million.
“Still, there are families out there that don’t know that this is an option,” Monroe said. “New families have probably heard about it, but there are some families already in the system who have yet to apply.”
New application awards are on a first-come, first-served basis, with special priority for those on the lowest income bracket (Tier 1). Then they trickle down to Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 until all funds are eventually exhausted. Officials emphasize the earlier the application is received, the more likely it is to be funded.
Awards range from approximately $3,000 to $7,000, with income thresholds on each of the four tiers differing depending upon family size. They are expected to stay on par with the 2025-2026 amounts. Monroe noted the tiered system fosters diversity.
“The tiered system makes sure that that money goes to the people that need it the most,” Monroe said. “And the byproduct is, folks are coming in from a socioeconomic place where they have not been able to attend our schools in the past. It just further leads to the idea of Catholic schools being universally open to all kids.”
While enrollment numbers remained stable across the diocese, Monroe wants to make sure all families are able to benefit through the program.
Some obstacles, contributing to lack of funding are parents unaware they qualify for the program, difficulty with the NCSEAA portal, and missing the March deadline, Monroe said
Monroe attributes the decline to parents unaware they qualify for the program, difficulty with the NCSEAA portal, and missing the March deadline.
If parents need language assistance with the portal, the schools and Catholic Schools Office are committed to helping.
“For some of our non-English speaking families, we sit down with them and help them fill out the application on the portal because it is somewhat challenging,” Monroe said. “I suggest they work with us directly through the school, the billing office, or the Catholic Schools office.
Monroe reported that all families needing further assistance were fully funded using Catholic Diocese aid.
“Before Opportunity Scholarship, we were not able to meet the full amount of aid that was required by our families that wanted to come to our schools,” Monroe said. “Now we are able to meet 100% of aid because of the Opportunity Scholarship.”
However, to receive further tuition assistance through the diocese, it is essential to apply for opportunity scholarships first.
— Lisa M. Geraci
More online
At www.k12.ncseaa.edu/opportunity-scholarship/how-to-apply: Learn more and apply online. A companion program, the Education Student Account Scholarship (ESA+), has the same application window and provides financial assistance for private school and homeschool tuition for students with special needs.
Enrollment open for 2026-2027 school year
CHARLOTTE — With most of the Diocese of Charlotte’s 20 schools at or near capacity, now is the time to apply for the 2026-2027 school year.
The deadline for new families to apply for Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools grades 1-12 is Feb. 28, but students should apply by Feb. 6 for ABC test scores to be returned by the deadline. Priority admission in pre-kindergarten, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten is set for Jan. 31.
Once the priority admission round ends, applications will be considered on a rolling, space-available basis – with priority given to siblings of current and former students, children of alumni and employees, and registered parishioners. Some classes fill up quickly, so new families are encouraged to register early and get on a waiting list if their preferred school’s classes are full.
Deadlines for schools outside the Charlotte area vary but are also approaching; check your desired school’s website for specific deadlines.
- At www.discovermacs.org/admissions/apply-now: Learn more about enrolling in MACS schools.
- At www.charlottediocese.org/schools: Learn more about the Diocese of Charlotte’s 20 Catholic schools, their mission and their leadership.