Scholarships set for Catholic high school freshmen

StoneMor Partners L.P. announced a scholarship program Tuesday that will aid an incoming freshman at each of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's 17 high schools.

The new StoneMor Scholars will receive a $3,000 partial scholarship for the freshman year beginning in 2015-16.

"We are thrilled to be providing local students with the opportunity to further their Catholic education, and look forward to helping those who are in need of financial assistance," StoneMor president and CEO Lawrence Miller said in a statement.

The Bucks County-based burial and cemetery services company took over management of the archdiocese's 13 Catholic cemeteries under a long-term lease arrangement in 2014.

The base tuition at the 17 high schools, which last year had a total enrollment of 13,500, is $6,800.

Applications for the new scholarship will be available to incoming ninth graders with financial need who meet certain academic benchmarks. Students do not have to be Catholic to apply.

Students will be nominated by a selection committee at their high schools that will include administrators and the guidance director. The committee will consider students on the basis of their academic performance and recommendations from their elementary school teachers and administrators.

Each year, a new group of students will be selected to receive aid for freshman year.

The initial group of recipients is scheduled to be honored at an awards ceremony at StoneMor's headquarters in Levittown on Oct. 15.

The company said it would provide a little more than $50,000 to fund the scholarships each year.