Academy features bargain rates

By Tara Haghighi

Immaculate Conception Academy offers bargain tuition rates compared to other private schools and is attracting students from throughout the Bay Area.

As a result, it also has one of the most diverse student enrollments compared to other private schools.

Located in the Mission District on 24th Street, the school is surrounded by a district known for its trendy bars and clubs.

The all-girls, private Catholic school looks like a big church with a cream color and letters ICA written in a dark grey color.

“ICA accepts more diverse students than other private school in San Francisco,” said physics teacher Laurel Reitman

Out of 263 students, school officials said that at least 50 percent of them are Latinos, 20 percent are Asians, 12 percent are Caucasians and another 12 percent are African American.

About 65 percent of the students come from San Francisco, 26 percent come from San Mateo County and at least nine percent come from the East Bay.

A spot survey shows that the school’s diversity exceeds that of other private high schools in San Francisco.

At St Ignatius College Preparatory, for example, only eight percent are Hispanics, four percent are African Americans, and 64 percent are all others. At Mercy High School only 23 percent are Hispanics, 16 percent are Asians, 27 percent are White and five percent are African-Americans.
ICA is also one of the very few private high schools with a low tuition price ($9,600) in San Francisco according to Vice Principal Mary Cerutti.
At ICA, the majority of the students (about 55 percent) receive scholarships.
By comparison, the tuition at St. Ignatius is about $13,950 and only about 20 percent of the student body receives scholarships. Mercy High School’s tuition is about $11,600 and only 45 percent of the students receive scholarships.

But the tuitions rates don’t include books, uniforms, and other costs.

Last year the school awarded more than $3.5 million for scholarship funds.

Rafi Laus is a senior at ICA and lives only six blocks away from the school.Her mother is a nurse and her father is unemployed.

“Other expenses and bills from the school are overwhelming…. ,(but) I'd rather put up with that than going to (a) school and not learn anything,” she said.

Most of the students also seemed to agree with this. They feel that some of the fees are a little bit over the top.

“The fees get to be a little (too) much at times, there's a registration fee here, graduation fee there, but we manage,” junior Elyssa “Lisa” Lezcano said.

Lezcano suggested to her parents that she attend a public school, but then felt that a private school would give her more one on one attendtion.

“(With the) inviting and open community full of friendly people, the financial struggle is undoubtedly worth it,” Lezcano said.

Beverly Sackrider, a junior, agrees with Lezcano. She is one of the students that are receiving financial aid through work study opportunities.

“If you are truly dedicated to your school you will receive so much out of your education,” she said.