Thousands of Ukrainian families who were forced to leave their war-torn country found a new home in Chicago. Once here, many enrolled their children in St. Nicholas Cathedral School in Ukrainian Village thanks to a scholarship program. But now, that program has come to an end.
A total of 96 students at St. Nicholas Cathedral School rely on those scholarships to cover their tuition costs. Among them are 56 Ukrainian refugees, like Varvara and Alisa Sydorenko.
"The school as a community is like my home," said Varvara, who is in 8th grade. She says thanks to the school, she has learned the English language and has grown to assimilate into her new life in Chicago.
"For them it was really hard, this adaptation to a new life here," Nataliia Sydorenko, the girls' mother said. "So it was like a miracle to find this school, because here, they help the girls a lot."
The Sydorenko family said the school has become a safe place where they feel comfortable and a place they can turn to if they need assistance.
"Immediately after the invasion, as you know, we started to receive students from Ukraine. You have students that come that were painting pictures that were dark, like black clouds and smoke … and now you see smiles and they are happy again," Anna Cirilli, the principal at St. Nicholas Cathedral School said.
While the students are covered for the 2023-2024 school year, their tuition for next year is in limbo after the "Invest in Kids Act" program expired in the state of Illinois. Those against the program argue the money should go to public schools.
Local
"It was just politics, and we were on the wrong side of it," Cirilli said. "Unfortunately, these children are low-income families, and they’re the underdogs and their voices just weren’t heard at this time."
The school has launched an online fundraising campaign to try to help the families cover tuition costs as they also continue to have conversations with legislators with the hope of bringing the program back.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
