Ramallah Friends Schoolprovides quality education to Palestinian youth of all backgrounds; an education that builds on the Quaker testimonies of equality and service. RFS is interested in maintaining a student body that is representative of the Palestinian society and to which no student will be denied access for the sole reason that he or she cannot afford it. While assisting families who otherwise are not able to send their children to the school, the Financial Aid Fund also provides assistance to families who are going through exceptionally difficult times, as well as the children of the RFS staff who receive a 75 percent tuition remission.
Financial Aid Fund
General Award
This scheme supports families of students and find it difficult to pay fees because of the deterioration in their financial situation and/or an increase in their family size. The aim of the General Award is to support families to keep their children in the school and encourage their siblings to join them. Families receive anywhere between $240 and $3,000 in assistance, depending on their financial situation.
Eli and Sybil Jones (ESJ) Awards
The ESJ Awards are named after two New England Quakers instrumental in RFS’ founding and are designated for underprivileged families who otherwise would never be able to send their children to school. RFS aims to expand the ESJ Awards to help increases access to education in Palestine.
The minimum sponsorship ranges between $2,900 and $4,300 depending on the grade level and we encourage supporters to commit to the long-term support of these students.
Supporters who contribute to the ESJ Awards will have the scholarship bear their name.
At the request of supporters, RFS will facilitate direct communication between the donors and the students whom they support.
Endowed Scholarships
RFS partners with Friends Fiduciary to help supporters endow scholarships for underprivileged students. Endowed scholarships will bear the name of the sponsor’s choosing. $75,000 will support the entire tuition fee for one student each year ($37,500 will support 50% of a scholarship, etc..).
If desired, the donor may designate that the scholarship used to enable a student to attend either the Upper or Lower School. Donors may also designate the endowment be used for a female student given their desire to promote the education of women in Palestinian society.
Sponsored Scholarships
Ramallah Friends School has long counted on the generosity of friends who provide an annual contribution that enables a student to attend our school. In some cases, the donor makes a multi-year commitment; for example, providing a scholarship to a Pre-K student with a commitment that a gift will be received each year from that year forward through graduation.
The average cost of a full scholarship (for both the Upper and Lower Schools) is set at $3,500 per year. Gifts of any size may, however, be designated for scholarship assistance.
Learning Support Fund
Ramallah Friends School was the first school in Palestine that opened its doors to students with learning difficulties. We have over 60 students with varying cognitive, learning and physical challenges who are fully included our school, and we teach our community to embrace difference and diversity. At RFS, all students have an opportunity to take part in their community in ways otherwise not available to them anywhere else in Palestine. The Learning Support Fund enables the school to provide a range of services to students with learning difficulties, including additional educational materials and teachers’ aides. An endowment gift designated for the Learning Support Fund will be used to support the salaries for the teachers and aides involved in this unique and critically important part of our educational program.
