Free Private Middle Schools

Boston has 3 tuition-free, religious middle schools that serve grades 5 to 8. All 3 are small, Mother Caroline, for example, has just 60 students total in the whole school. Rigorous school days start early and end at night. While the student population tends to be a mix of Catholic and Protestant, there are students of other denominations. All three schools parents or guardians to volunteer some time each week in lieu of tuition.

Nativity Prep Academy is an all boys Jesuit school. The goal is to prepare kids to win academic scholarships at prestigious prep schools and Catholic secondary throughout New England. Most students attend post-secondary educational institutions after graduation.

Mother Caroline Academy is very similar, except it is an all girls school. It’s run by School Sisters of Notre Dame.

The application process involves tests, interviews, and teacher recommendations. Both of these schools seek motivated students from low-income families, trying to provide a chance for these kids to later attend some of the nation’s most elite private high schools and colleges.

Epiphany School is different in that many of their students “have not done well in their previous schools and, by conventional measures and assumptions, are highly at-risk of academic failure, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and delinquency. In Epiphany's small and structured environment however, students demonstrate remarkable growth, both academically and personally (Epiphany School website).”