Our Mission
The mission of the Star Kids Scholarship Program is to provide educational opportunities in the form of tuition aid to effective, non-public schools as well as uniforms, after-school and summer programs, tutoring and mentoring for those high-risk, low-income children in grades K-12 who have a parent with a history of incarceration and/or substance abuse. Children are typically enrolled in the program between Kindergarten and Grade 4. Star Kids’ goal for each child is to graduate from high school. By completing high school and hopefully going on to higher education, these children will have a greater chance of breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty, drug use, violence and incarceration.
DO I QUALIFY FOR THE STAR KIDS PROGRAM?
Any student may be eligible for the Star Kids Scholarship Program if he or she is in grades K-11 and (1) lives in a low-income household; (2) has a parent who is currently incarcerated or has been incarcerated in the past, or who has a history of documented substance abuse, and (3) wants to attend a non-public school. If you can check off the questions below, then you qualify to apply to our program.
- Does your family meet Federal current-year low-income guidelines? We follow low-income guidelines, based on the size of the family unit, established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Health.
- Does the child have a parent who is currently incarcerated or has been incarcerated in the past? You must be able to provide supporting documentation of the conviction(s) and incarceration(s) for your application to be considered.
OR:
- Does the child have a parent who has a history of documented substance abuse? You must provide supporting documentation (such as treatment center details) for your application to be considered.
If, after reviewing this information, you still have questions, please contact the Newport/Fall River Star Kids Scholarship Program at 401-848-4187.
Apply for a Scholarship
The following documents are in Adobe PDF format. Please download and print the forms, fill out the forms and return to Star Kids by mail. The Star Kids address is on the form.
Admissions are rolling, although priority is given to applications received by March 15th.
The Teacher Recommendation Form and Counselor/Social Worker Recommendation Form are included in the Star Kids Application. Please give these forms to your child’s teacher and the family or student counselor/social worker and ask them to complete the forms and return to Star Kids directly by mail.
If you are unable to download and print these documents, please contact Star Kids at 401-848-4187 and we will mail an application to you.
The following download consists of the following combined in 1 file:
- Star Kids Application: Newport County, RI and Fall River MA Program – 5 Forms (A through E)
Star Kids Commitment to the Student and Parent
Star Kids plans to provide each student funding for tuition, uniforms, tutoring, after-school programs, and summer programs until the student graduates from high school. The following list outlines the amount provided for each student per year. In order to receive the following assistance, the parent and student must meet all the requirements of the annual Parent Agreement and the Student Agreement (for Grades 6-12). Star Kids financial support ends at high school graduation. Star Kids does not provide financial assistance for college tuition and expenses.
- Up to $4,500 per year of tuition assistance for grades K-8, and up to $6,000 for high school tuition, to a non-public school for each year your child is in the Star Kids program
- $125 gift certificate per year for school uniforms
- Up to $300 per year of after-school program assistance
- Up to $500 per year of summer program assistance
- Up to $150 per year for high school books
- Field trips (amount and frequency to be determined by Star Kids)
- Tutoring (on a per-case, as-needed basis, as determined by the child’s school and Star Kids)
- Mentoring (on a per-case basis and based on mentor availability)
- Assistance with transportation expenses to and from school (on a per-case basis, as determined by Star Kids)