Two New Private Schools Launched to Make Use of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts

Grand Canyon Private Academy (GCPA) is a new online private school serving grades K–10, launched this past fall by Stride K12, one of the nation’s leading online learning providers. And FaithPrep Arizona is providing Arizona families with access to a private online Christian school and homeschool program for students in grades K-12.

They join existing Stride K12 offerings from K12 Private Academy and The Keystone School in providing private, online education options for parents with 100 percent of tuition costs covered through Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts — making a private education more accessible than ever before for families of all income levels.

“We see a tremendous opportunity here in Arizona to bring a high-quality, private online education to families that may not have been able to afford it in the past,” said Janice Gruneberg, Senior Vice President & Superintendent of Schools for Grand Canyon Private Academy, a new online school for Arizona students. “The ESA program is a game-changer for many families, and we wanted to respond to this by providing an educational curriculum that is rigorous and designed to promote future success.”

ESA scholarship dollars can contribute to or even fully cover the cost of tutoring services, learning materials, and private school tuition. The ESA fully covers full-time tuition, including all materials, at Grand Canyon Private Academy and FaithPrep Arizona. This means Arizona students can earn a private school education 100% tuition-free. Arizona’s ESA provides approximately $7,000 per student for most families, regardless of household income.

“We’ve found that there is a great deal of interest in Arizona in a private, online, Christian education,” said Chuck Wolfe, Chief Executive Officer of FaithPrep Arizona. “We are pleased to be able to bring the FaithPrep model to Arizona and work with families to have their tuition completely covered through the ESA Program.”

Currently, more than 45,000 Arizona students are now enrolled in private schools through Arizona’s ESA program, which is designed to reduce financial barriers to private-school education — regardless of family income. This number represents only a fraction of the state’s more than 1 million children in kindergarten to 12^th grade, and a minority of students currently enrolled in private schools.

ESA applications are accepted year-round, so parents can start taking advantage of these funds in a timely manner and make changes to their children’s educational environment whenever they see fit. Funds are distributed each quarter, with funding beginning the quarter that the ESA contract is signed by parents.

Families seeking more information on the ESA program can visit AZ Empowerment Scholarship for a full breakdown of how they can take advantage of this opportunity for their children.