Cypress Junction Montessori (CJM) is pleased to offer a scholarship program for qualified preschool students.

How the scholarship works:

The scholarships are based on financial need, not how well your child does in school. Families are provided financial assistance toward the cost of CJM’s preschool tuition. The total amount of aid awarded for a school year will be applied equally over the course of ten (10) tuition payments.

The student’s attendance will be reviewed at the end of each 9-week period. Students must abide by the attendance policy outlined in the current CJM Family Handbook. Should excessive absences result in a truancy status (as defined by the current CJM Family Handbook), the student will lose his or her scholarship. If the circumstances surrounding the student’s absence are unique, the family may work with the Principal. It is at the Principal’s discretion whether or not to grant a waiver of the student attendance requirement due to extenuating circumstances.

Applications are processed in the order they are received (including all supporting documentation) and scholarships are awarded with priority given in the following order:

• Renewal families.

• Students already selected via a random lottery to attend kindergarten at CJM in 2022-23.

• New families with the greatest financial need enrolling a student in our three-year-old program.

• New families with the greatest financial need enrolling a student in our four-year-old program.

Who qualifies?

• Age Eligibility:

  • Students entering our 3 or 4-year-old preschool class.

    • 3 year old class – must be 3 on or before 9/1/22

    • 4 year old class – must be 4 on or before 9/1/22

• Income Eligibility:

  • If a member of the household receives SNAP (food stamps), TANF or FDPIR, the student may qualify.

  • If the household income qualifies for free or reduced-priced lunch, the student may qualify. (Free and reduced-priced lunch guidelines can be found here: http://www.polk-fl.net/parents/generalinformation/documents/FL_income_guidelines15-16.pdf)

  • If the household income is at or below the income criteria found in the chart below titled “Eligibility Chart”, the student may qualify.

• Priority:

  • Scholarships are awarded based on availability of funds with priority given to renewal families, followed by students already selected via a random lottery to attend kindergarten at CJM in 2018, followed by new families with the greatest financial need. If the household income is more than the income criteria on the chart below titled “Priority”, but less than or equal to the income criteria on the chart below titled “Eligibility”, the student, while eligible, will be placed on a waiting list until all families whose income is below the amounts on the ‘Priority’ chart have received funding. If at that time funds are still available, students on the waiting list will be awarded in the order their applications were received, including all supporting documentation.

  • At the discretion of the Principal/Head of School, scholarship funding may be made available to families whose income exceeds the maximum income as defined by the eligibility chart so long as all those families who have applied and have income levels within those parameters have received scholarships.

Eligibility Chart:

Eligibility: If the household income is at or below the following criteria, the student may be eligible for a scholarship:

*For families with more than 5 people in the household, CJM will follow the Step Up For Students’ income guidelines.

Priority Chart:

Priority: If the household is more than the income criteria on the chart below titled “Priority”, but less than or equal to the income criteria on the chart below titled “Eligibility”, the student, while eligible, will be placed on a waiting list until all renewal families and new families whose income is below the amounts on the ‘Priority’ chart have received funding.

Children who are homeless.

There is no income threshold for homeless students to qualify for a scholarship. The family must provide documentation to validate the child’s homeless status. Acceptable documentation includes: a letter/document on letterhead written and signed by the homeless liaison in the Polk County public school district or by the Owner/Executive Director of the shelter or transitional housing facility of which the family resides. Documentation must include:

1. Child’s name

2. Effective date(s)

3. Signature of the local educational liaison or the director of the homeless shelter.

Children who are in foster care or out-of-home care.

A student who is/was placed at any time in foster care or out-of-home care during the current or immediate prior CJM fiscal year may be eligible. (CJM’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.)

A child in foster care is defined by the following:

“Foster care” means care provided a child in a foster family or boarding home, group home, agency boarding home, child care institution, or any combination thereof, as defined by s. 39.01(29).

A child in out-of-home care placement is defined by the following:

“Out-of-home” means a placement outside of the home of the parents or parent, as defined by S. 39.01(48). “Out-of-Home Care” means the placement of a child in licensed and non-licensed settings, arranged and supervised by the department or contracted service provider, outside of the home of the parent, as defined by DCF Rule: 65C-30.001 Definitions. (91).

Apply today using our Lottery Application!

This project is funded in part through a grant from George W. Jenkins Fund within the GiveWell Community Foundation and the City of Winter Haven.

Interested in helping fund our early education scholarship program? 

Our goal is to be 100% tuition-free from three-years-old through 8th grade. A a charter, K-8 are free for our students, but we must raise funding through public partnerships and grants to fund our three and four-year-old preschool program in order to discount or eliminate tuition charges for our families. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can help us grow our Early Education Scholarship Fund, please contact Teresa at thilliard@cypressjunction.org.