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Catholic News Herald

Serving Christ and Connecting Catholics in Western North Carolina

CHARLOTTE — Enrollment for the 2022-’23 academic year is under way at many Catholic schools across the Diocese of Charlotte.

Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville opened enrollment Oct. 1. St. Leo School in Winston-Salem also opened enrollment Oct. 1 for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.

All nine Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools, located in the greater Charlotte area, began accepting applications Nov. 2. The other nine schools around the diocese will begin accepting enrollment applications in the coming months.

Schools officials are reporting that open houses held this fall have been well attended.

Due to a growth in enrollment, St. Pius X School in Greensboro added sections in middle school. Bishop McGuinness High School, Charlotte Catholic High School and Christ the King High School added sections and faculty. Immaculate Heart of Mary School added an additional section in upper elementary, and St. Gabriel School built an additional kindergarten classroom.

All of the diocese’s Catholic schools are accredited through Cognia, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that accredits primary and secondary schools throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Several schools offer special learning programs to better meet the needs of diverse learners. In many instances, parents can provide their special needs child with a

Catholic education from pre-kindergarten through high school.

MECKLENBURG AREA CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

The nine schools in MACS are: St. Ann School (PK, TK-5), St. Gabriel School (K-5), St. Matthew School (TK-5), St. Patrick School (K-5), Our Lady of the Assumption School (PK-8), St. Mark School (K-8), Holy Trinity Middle School (6-8), Charlotte Catholic High School and Christ the King High School.

Visit each school’s website or contact the school directly to schedule a visit.

For more information, including MACS application forms and financial aid opportunities, go online to www.discovermacs.org.

Prospective families may also contact MACS Admissions Director Sissie Kilby at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 704-370-3273.

MACS tuition rates for the 2022-’23 year are expected to be announced early next year.
Last year’s tuition costs for participating Catholic families were: $4,613 for half-day pre-kindergarten or $7,211 for full-day pre-kindergarten; $7,545 for elementary school (transitional kindergarten through fifth grade); $8,475 for middle school, and $12,087 for high school. (Tuition for community members or non-participating Catholics is higher.)

Additional graduation, technology and activity fees are not included in these costs.

Tuition discounts are provided to participating Catholic parishioners and for multiple children enrollment. This is diocesan wide.

Financial assistance is also available to qualifying families based on need. This is diocesan wide.

All of the diocesan schools participate in the N.C. Opportunity Scholarship and the N.C. Disability Scholarship Programs.

MACS Special NEEDS PROGRAMS

MACS also offers special needs programs at various locations, including: PACE (Providing an Appropriate Academic Catholic Education), MAP (Modified Academic Program), MMP (Matthew Morgan Program) and the Options Program, which creates an elementary through 12th-grade path for students in the MAP and Matthew Morgan programs to continue to flourish in our Catholic schools and beyond. It provides a curriculum specifically developed to bring these two programs together and creates a “certificate” path that will allow these students to explore options on college/university campuses beyond high school. This program is offered at Charlotte Catholic High School.

Each of these programs offers a specific educational experience for students with special needs.

To learn more about these special programs and tuition rates, go to www.discovermacs.org/speciallearning.

Our Lady of Grace School in Greensboro also offers the PACE and QUEST special needs programs.

DIOCESAN SCHOOLS

Outside the Charlotte area, there are nine parish-based elementary/middle schools and one diocesan high school, each with their own admissions processes and varying tuition rates and financial aid programs:

  • Asheville Catholic School: PK-8th grade; 12 Culvern St., Asheville; 828-252-7896; www.ashevillecatholic.org
  • Bishop McGuinness High School: 9-12th grade; 1725 N.C. Hwy. 66 South, Kernersville; 336-564-1010; www.bmhs.us
  • Immaculata School: PK-8th grade; 711 Buncombe St., Hendersonville; 828-693–3277; www.immac.org
  • Immaculate Heart of Mary School: PK-8th grade; 4145 Johnson St., High Point; 336-887-2613; www.ihm-school.com
  • Our Lady of Grace School: PK-8th grade; 201 South Chapman St., Greensboro; 336-275-1522; www.olgsch.org
  • Our Lady of Mercy School: PK-8th grade; 1730 Link Road, Winston-Salem; 336-722-7204; www.ourladyofmercyschool.org
  • Sacred Heart School: PK-8th grade; 385 Lumen Christi Lane, Salisbury; 704-633-2841; www.salisburycatholicschool.org
  • St. Leo School: PK-8th grade; 333 Springdale Ave., Winston-Salem; 336-748-8252; www.stleocatholic.com
  • St. Michael School: PK-8th grade; 704 St. Michael’s Lane, Gastonia; 704-865-4382; www.stmichaelcs.com
  • St. Pius X School: K-8th grade; 2200 North Elm St., Greensboro; 336-273-9865; www.spxschool.com

Visit each school’s website or contact the school directly for registration information or to schedule a visit.

— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter

More online

At www.charlottediocese.org/schools-office: Learn more about the Diocese of Charlotte’s 19 Catholic schools, their mission and their leadership.

CHARLOTTE — Catholic school leaders, in partnership with the Diocese of Charlotte’s Development Office, are taking a new approach to annual giving for the needs of the 19 Catholic schools in western North Carolina.

Instead of one effort formerly known as the MACS Education Annual Fund, each of the nine Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools will spearhead its own fund development program and determine how best to prioritize donations from year to year. The diocese’s 10 other schools – nine parish-based schools as well as Bishop McGuinness High School – will use the same approach.

Since it was established in 1993, the MACS Education Annual Fund raised approximately $9.5 million for Catholic education.

“From a philanthropy and giving perspective, we decided that our community of families and supporters are eager for their local school to benefit directly from annual fund support. Therefore, we are moving away from the MACS Annual Fund to focus more specifically on individual school fund development,” said Dr. Gregory Monroe, superintendent of Catholic schools, in a letter to the MACS community also signed by Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development.

Monroe explained that this new phase of fund development will allow schools to more effectively address their specific individual needs and promote student success in a more prominent way.

“Each school can determine how best to fund priority needs in areas like Catholic identity, technology, curricular resources, cultural enrichment, teacher grants and professional development,” he said.

“I see the individual annual fund appeals being particularly beneficial to older schools with more established local legacies,” said Michelle Kuhn, the new principal of St. Ann School in Charlotte. “St. Ann is a special place that has been incredibly important to area Catholic families for decades.”

She hopes that by reaching out directly to families – inviting alumni back to the school to see all of the updates that have been made and giving them an opportunity to reminisce about their years spent at St. Ann School – more people will want to invest in current needs and future success of the school.

“In addition to a robust annual fund, I would like to see a substantial St. Ann Endowment upon which we can draw for scholarships,” she added.

All 19 schools will receive guidance from Ben Hoke, the new development director for Catholic schools. He will assist each school to focus on enhanced funding initiatives and dynamic annual, major, and planned giving programs for strengthening each school community.

“We are designing plans to increase involvement and financial support,” Hoke said. “My goal is to help each school raise more money, both immediately and long term.”

Kelley believes the new partnership with each school principal, their staff and leadership volunteers will “aim to customize a school-by-school approach to fully realize a stronger culture of teamwork and philanthropy.”

— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter

  1. Endowment funds benefit our schools and make Catholic education more accessible
  2. Schools use data in shifting to virtual classes, require face coverings in response to pandemic conditions