Tuition Assistance

The vibrancy of our Jewish future can be assured only by recognizing the unique contribution of every Jewish family to that future. CESJDS recognizes the investment our families make in providing a Jewish day school education for their children. Through our close partnership with families, we commit to providing a predictable, dependable, and transparent financial aid process throughout your family's tenure at the school.

Many are surprised at the depth of our program and the number of families CESJDS who benefit from the tuition assistance program.

The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School works hard to balance the needs of the school and a family's ability to pay the necessary tuition which assures the school's excellence. When you inquire about tuition assistance, and later apply, we honor what you share and any questions you may have, with compassion, understanding and privacy. Our determination process is built upon standards that include integrity and equity.

Is the Tuition Assistance Program Right for Me?

It may be! Most families considering applying for tuition assistance want to know "Will I qualify for assistance?" Many families are pleased with how robust our tuition assistance program is, and the number of families we are able to assist.

Please refer to the points below to gain insight into determining tuition assistance:

Consideration 1: Income

Consideration 2: Liquid Assets

Consideration 3: Financial Persona

Also considered is an overview of all your financial data as required in the application.

Tuition payments for other pre-K - 12th grade schools
Retirement accounts
Home mortgage
Real estate in addition to your family home
Vehicles
Trust and 529 accounts
Liabilities
Financial care of elderly parents
Any exceptional circumstances that affect your family's financial viability.
Temporary or unexpected recent unemployment

Items Not Considered

These items below, among others, are not included in tuition assistance determination, even as we respect their impact on your family budget:

Cost of the Senior Capstone Trip (Some financial aid is given to qualified students)
Lifestyle choices that make paying tuition difficult (vacations, cars, investment homes, pet costs, unique summer camp or extracurricular costs beyond a typical amount, etc.)
Daycare and college costs

Will I Get Tuition Assistance?

Please find a general guide below. Tuition assistance amounts will vary based on every family's situation, per above. This table in not a way to replace the diligent work done to assess your particular family situation when you apply.

Your Income:	1 Child at CESJDS:	2 Children at CESJDS	3 or more Children at CESJDS:
$50,000 - 100,000	Very Likely	Very Likely	Very Likely
$100,000 - $150,000	Very Likely	Very Likely	Very Likely
$150,000-$200,000	Likely	Likely	Very Likely
$200,000-$250,000	Likely	Likely	Very Likely
$250,000-$300,000	Maybe	Likely	Very Likely
$300,000 -$400,000	Very unlikely	Maybe	Likely
$400,000 and more:	Very unlikely	Very unlikely	Maybe

Apply for Tuition Assistance

This year for the 2025-2026 season, we are excited to announce that CESJDS has chosen Clarity as our new tuition assistance application system. Our goal is to make the tuition assistance application process as easy as possible for your family. Clarity is an online program to process your tuition assistance application.

Clarity offers a streamlined, mobile friendly application that can be completed in as short a time as 20-30 minutes. Additionally, Clarity removes the need to upload your 2023 W2 and 1040 by transferring them directly from the IRS.

The Clarity tuition assistance portal will open for the 2025-2026 school year on November 15, 2024.

All users will be asked to create a new user name and new password this year. Two-factor authentication may be required in order to best secure your confidential information.

Clarity Family Application Guide Clarity Quick Reference Guide

For additional support and to glimpse the family application experience, check out these video tutorials

Deadline for applying:

Current CESJDS Families - January 2, 2025
New and Prospective Families - January 31, 2025

*Any applications for tuition assistance received after the application deadline, will be reviewed in May after the original rounds of awards have been made.

Family Support Contact Information

If you have specific concerns or questions about your family's situation before starting the Clarity tuition assistance application, please don't hesitate to contact Helene Rhodes, Senior Enrollment and Tuition Assistance Manager, for a phone or personal meeting.

Clarity Email and Chat Support

Email support can be access support@clarityapp.com, and chat support can be found in the application using the "Help" button in the lower left corner. Support is available at the following times:

Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM ET
Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET

Clarity Phone Support

Phone Support is available at 206-210-3752 at the following times:

Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM ET
Saturday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET

CESJDS takes the privacy and security of your personal information very seriously. Clarity is certified for both GDPR and SOC2 and uses enterprise-level security standards including end-to-end encryption of all personally identifiable information. For more information, please refer to Clarity’s Privacy Policy.

Apply for Tuition Assistance

Contact CESJDS

301-692-4960

Email Us >>

Important Dates

November 15, 2024: 2025-2026 tuition assistance application period begins.

January 2, 2025: Clarity Applications and tax/supporting documents due for current families.

January 31, 2025: Clarity Applications and tax/supporting documents due for prospective families.

February 5-7, 2025: Notification of Tuition Assistance Awards to current families.

February 21, 2025: Current families deadline to appeal or withdraw enrollment.

March 7, 2025: Prospective families are notified of Tuition Assistance Awards with their Enrollment Agreement.

March 21, 2025: Enrollment contracts are due for Prospective Families.