Calling all Future Saints!
Are you interested in becoming a St. Francis Xavier Saint next school year? We are here to answer all your questions and help determine if St. Francis Xavier Catholic School is a great fit for you and your family!
Of course, the best way to know if any school is a good fit is to experience it for yourself! We offer tours for prospective families on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings. During the tour, you will experience St. Francis Xavier students and teachers in action and learn more about our curriculum and day-to-day operations.
If you would like to schedule a tour, please fill out our inquiry form (see below). You will then receive communication from someone on our office staff, who will work with you to get you on our calendar!
Admissions Process
At St. Francis Xavier, we’ve designed our admissions process to determine three things: 1) if the applicant meets the qualifications for admission, 2) if the applicant’s family is aligned with our mission, and 3) if our school possesses the resources to best serve the applicant’s needs.
In making an admissions decision, we take into consideration several factors, including, but not limited to, teacher and principal recommendations, standardized test scores, report cards, interviews, and assessments.
Please note: students must be at least three years old by September 1st for PreK, 2026, and be fully potty-trained. Students must be five years old by September 1 for Kindergarten.
Applications for the 2026-2027 school year will open on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
Required Documents, Interviews, and Assessments
For an application to St. Francis Xavier Catholic School to be considered complete, we must have access to digital or hard copies of all required documents. Applicants with incomplete applications will not receive an admissions decision until their application is complete. If an application remains incomplete for too long, this may impact the admissions decision.
The following is a list of documents required for admission here at St. Francis Xavier:
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Birth certificates are required for ALL applicants to verify age. Baptismal certificates are required for all applicants who have been baptized in a Catholic church.
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A copy of the most recent report card is required for all rising 1st - 8th-grade applicants. This must be an official report card from the applicant’s most recent school. Quarterly progress reports or gradebook screenshots will not be considered acceptable.
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Standardized test scores (or nationally norm-referenced assessments) are also required for all rising 1st - 8th-grade applicants.
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If your child has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), has been placed on any sort of academic/behavioral support plan, or has been evaluated for any developmental/behavioral concerns, learning disabilities, and/or any other psychological condition, we will require copies of all related documentation.
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Teacher and principal recommendations are required for all rising 1st - 8th grade students AND for any Kindergarten applicant who has previously attended a preschool/daycare program. In addition, students applying for the 7th and 8th grades must provide both an English and a Mathematics teacher recommendation.
As part of the application, parents must enter the email of the principal at their child’s most recent school. They must also enter the email of their child’s most recent teacher. For students with multiple teachers (such as middle school students who rotate classes according to subject), we ask that the teacher filling out the application has taught the student in a core class (English, math, science, history, etc.) rather than an elective class, such as music and physical education (PE).
Upon submission of the application packet, a form will automatically be sent to the teacher and principal via email. We recommend consulting both individuals beforehand as a courtesy to ask them to fill out your child’s recommendation form and let them know when to expect the email.
If the teacher and/or the principal have trouble locating the email after you have submitted your child’s application, please ask them to check their junk mail. If they continue to have issues, you may contact our director of marketing and enrollment at wblakely@sfxcatholic.com or call our front office at 205-871-1687.
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An application will not be considered completed until the application fee of $40 has been submitted online.
As part of the application process, families will also be asked to schedule an interview with the principal. Rising Kindergarten through 8th-grade applicants will also need to schedule a time for a student assessment.
After you submit your application, our Director of Marketing and Enrollment will reach out to you to schedule a time that works for you and the school for these portions of the admissions process.
Failure to promptly schedule or show up to an interview and/or assessment could impact our school’s admissions decision.
The school may also request that the student attend a shadow day.
The St. Francis Xavier School administration will review completed applications following the admissions interview/assessment and determine if a letter of acceptance will be extended to the applicant. Notification letters are typically sent via email.
Admissions Review
Individuals who receive a letter of acceptance to St. Francis Xavier School will need to either accept or decline the offer. For those who accept the offer, the next step in the process is to complete an enrollment packet.
The enrollment packet will ask for information necessary to formally enroll a child in a class at St. Francis Xavier, such as medical information, emergency contacts, correspondence and custody details, and more.
Enrollment must be completed through Renweb Family Portal. Instructions on how to create a Renweb account and locate the enrollment packet will be contained in the admissions offer. Please follow the instructions closely. Any technical issues may be reported to wblakely@sfxcatholic.com.
Near the end of the enrollment packet, applicants will be redirected to FACTs to choose how they will pay their tuition over the course of the year. When you are finished selecting your tuition plan, please wait until you are redirected back to Renweb, where you will review your enrollment packet and officially submit it to the school.
Enrollment at St. Francis Xavier requires a fee of $225 for all new students. The fee must be paid before the enrollment packet is considered complete and is nonrefundable.
Until the enrollment packet is submitted in full, an individual’s seat in a class has NOT been officially claimed. A separate enrollment packet must be completed for each child.
Enrollment
Throughout the course of the spring semester, we will remain in contact with families who are enrolled in the upcoming school year. We will typically relay information about uniforms, school supplies, and other logistics over the summer. We ask, therefore, that all enrolled families keep an eye on their email for important updates from the school.
After Enrollment
Tuition and Fees
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Schools relies largely on student tuition to provide a high-quality classical Catholic education to each of our students. However, due to the generous contributions from our Parish and the surrounding community, we are able to keep our tuition affordable.
Students in Kindergarten through 8th grade receive one of two tuition rates: subsidized and unsubsidized. The subsidized rate is lower than the unsubsidized rate and applies to sacramentally active and contributing members of Catholic parishes in the Birmingham area. Families receiving subsidized tuition must be registered at their parish and have a baptismal record of each child on file at the school.
Families are also responsible for several associated fees, which help cover special costs like books and technology.
View the full tuition and fee schedule for the 2026-2027 school year:
Affording St. Francis Xavier
Some families may qualify for programs through the state of Alabama, such as the Alabama Accountability Act and the CHOOSE Act, which may help them pay for tuition while enrolled at St. Francis Xavier. Our parish also offers financial assistance to admitted families who apply by the May 1st deadline.
Families are NOT guaranteed to receive financial assistance, and must enroll prior to being eligible for aid.
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St. Francis Xavier Catholic School is proud to be an Education Service Provider (ESP) for Alabama’s CHOOSE Act.
In 2024, the Alabama Legislature passed the CHOOSE Act to create education savings accounts (ESAs) for eligible families to pay for a variety of educational expenses, including private school tuition. Eligible K-12 students can receive up to $7,000 per year. The Alabama Department of Revenue administers the program and distributes funds through a platform called ClassWallet.
New family applications for the CHOOSE Act for the 2026-2027 school year will open on January 2 and close on March 31. Families will be notified of their eligibility by April 15 and have to provide proof of enrollment by June 30. St. Francis Xavier will provide proof of enrollment to enrolled families upon request.
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The Alabama Legislature created the Alabama Accountability Act in 2013 to establish a framework for Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs to manage funds from tax-deductible donations and award scholarships to eligible students.
We are proud to participate with the following SGOs through the Alabama Accountability Act. Learn more by clicking the links below.
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Families that have been both admitted and enrolled may apply for parish financial assistance through FACTs Family Portal. The deadline for submitting a parish financial aid application is May 1, 2026.