“WE PROMISE TO DO ALL IN OUR POWER.”
ELMHURST CRC Covenant Plan Eligibility, Participation and FAQ’s
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible each parent, who is an Elmhurst CRC member, must:
1. Be an active, communicant member defined by our church as a member who regularly
attends worship services at Elmhurst CRC and supports Elmhurst CRC via the stewardship
of their time, talents, and material blessings.
2. Send their children to an approved Christian school as defined in the Elmhurst CRC
Christian Day School Program charter. Currently, three schools are approved for inclusion
in the plan:
• Timothy Christian Schools
• Southwest Christian Schools
• Elim Christian Services
3. Have no outstanding, prior tuition balance at Timothy Christian Schools (TCS), Southwest
Christian Schools, or Elim Christian Services.
PARTICIPATION STEPS:
Each parent, who is an Elmhurst CRC member, must complete a small group or one-on-one
informational meeting by May 1 and sign and submit the Affirmation Statement. Timothy
sends the appropriate enrollment packet to families in June. Those who have children that
attend a school other than TCS are also required to attend one of the informational meetings.
TCS Families:
On or before June 30, parents complete and submit to TCS the financial registration package,
and do one of the following three procedures:
A. Include a check made payable to Timothy Christian Schools for 60 percent of their
children’s total tuition bill*, OR
B. Use TCS’ FACTS program to pay the 60 percent amount to Timothy, with payments
beginning either August 5 or August 20; OR
C. Include a check with the registration package for a portion of that 60 percent to
Timothy, and use FACTS to pay for the remaining amount.
*Any fees outside of tuition, including class fees, capital maintenance and bus transportation,
are not covered by this plan. For 2015-2016, the maximum required parental tuition payment
to Timothy is $11,000.
ELMHURST CRC COVENANT PLAN
www.elmhurstcrc.org
In cases where the parent(s) are not able to pay their 60 percent amount to Timothy, they
should submit an application to the Timothy Christian Schools Foundation using FACTS to
request financial assistance from the Foundation. All assistance provided by the Foundation is
need-based and requires full disclosure and documentation of financial need.
Parents who are determined to be active members and have successfully enrolled their children
under one of the processes described above are included in the Elmhurst CRC Covenant
Education Plan. You will be notified via e-mail once your active status has been confirmed.
Families whose children attend an approved school other than Timothy would follow similar
procedures, depending upon the school’s tuition policies and processes.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. I have a child in pre-school. How does the Covenant Education Plan apply?
The Covenant Plan does not include any costs associated with preschool.
2. My child has an award scholarship from TCS.
Does that count toward my parental obligation to Timothy?
Yes, it will offset (lower) your parental obligation to Timothy for that student on a dollar-fordollar basis. Make sure you note that scholarship when you complete your registration form.
3. We participate in TRIP and so do our children’s grandparents (to help their grandchildren).
Does my TRIP balance count toward my parental obligation responsibility to Timothy?
Yes, it does.
4. Timothy has a $500 referral credit for existing TCS families who introduce a new family
to TCS and the new family ends up sending their children to Timothy. Does this count
towards my parental obligation to Timothy?
Yes, it does.
5. Can families enroll in the Covenant Education Plan after May 1?
No. All families who are currently members of Elmhurst CRC must enroll by May 1.
6. What if I miss the May 1 deadline?
If you miss the May 1 deadline, you will not be eligible to participate in the plan for the fall. If
you complete your one-on-one meeting by October 31, you will be eligible for participation in
January. Any exception to the deadline must be reviewed and approved by the Christian
Education Committee.
ELMHURST CRC COVENANT PLAN
www.elmhurstcrc.org
7. What about a family that joins our church in early August? In September?
Families new to ECRC whose membership is accepted prior to the start of the school year in
August are eligible to participate for the entire school year. Families who join Elmhurst CRC
later in the year (through November) are eligible to participate in the second half of the school
year. However, it is the parent’s responsibility to inform Elmhurst CRC (after they have
become members) of their desire to participate in the Covenant Education Plan.
8. I am in a very difficult financial situation right now and don’t think I can pay the parental
obligation to Timothy, even if I were to enroll in the TCS FACTS programs. Does that mean
my children cannot attend Timothy? May I approach the deacons for help?
It does not mean that you cannot send your children to TCS. As noted above under
“Participation Steps,” the Timothy Foundation would be your first source for assistance. If,
after applying to the Foundation, you need additional assistance, you can approach Aaron
Ozinga (Elmhurst CRC Deacon) who represents the Christian Education Committee (CEC)
and Elmhurst CRC deacons.
9. If I do approach Aaron for additional assistance, what is the process that will be followed
and will I have to provide any additional information?
The starting point will be to allow the information that you prepared when applying for
assistance from the Timothy Foundation to be shared with Elmhurst CRC, specifically the
representatives from the CEC. If you have already applied for assistance, this requires calling
FACTS (1-866-315-9262) and instructing them to add Elmhurst CRC to the list of institutions
allowed to access the FACTS application. If you have not yet applied for assistance from the
Foundation using FACTS, you can fill out the application online and check off both Timothy
and Elmhurst CRC as institutions allowed to access the application information.
10. Who should I contact if I have questions that either have not been addressed in this
document or are unique to my situation?
The following individuals should be able to assist you, depending upon the nature of question:
Mimi Stanton – Senior Leadership Team/Christian Education Committee Chair
[email protected]
Ken Vander Wal – Elder/Christian Education Committee
[email protected]
Aaron Ozinga – Deacon/Christian Education Committee
[email protected]
Rob Orange – TCS Board of Directors/Christian Education Committee
[email protected]
Lisa Zylstra – TCS Business Office
[email protected]
ELMHURST CRC COVENANT PLAN
www.elmhurstcrc.org