This January, the Catholic high school announced a new tuition model for the 2020-21 school year that will help families with budgeting for tuition costs. The model, dubbed “Family First,” will fix tuition for a four-year period beginning with the incoming freshman class, while families of current students will have their tuition fixed as well through graduation. It is estimated that parents will save an average of $4,000 in tuition over four years with this new model.

“The simplicity of this model means people can budget and there is affordability and clarity,” he said. “It will put us in a favorable light in the marketplace and help us stay true to our mission.”

Jennings noted the school’s Board of Governors had been weighing the initiative when he arrived last July and examining tuition models by other high schools, colleges and universities.

“In August it was decided, ‘Now is the time for action,’” Jennings said. “Lots of families had been saying, quite clearly, that the unpredictability of tuition was a problem. The number one issue is affordability; it breaks our hearts as a school to hear this.”

In addition to the tuition change, NDHS will award eight new merit scholarships next year and eight character and leadership awards to students from Notre Dame’s Catholic elementary sending schools. “We give out close to $1 million,” he said.

Jennings enumerated the benefits of the “Family First” model for both families and the school community, allowing for continued growth and financial viability.

“In conjunction with our enrollment management plan, our number one emphasis is on getting new families to Notre Dame,” he said.

Jennings said he was “on fire about Catholic education” and that he and his wife both attended Catholic schools. One of their children is a student in St. Paul School, Princeton, while his elder daughter is a member of the Notre Dame freshman class. He said new student applications are increasing, enrollment is up and the school is financially sound.