St. Theodore School families say Catholic foundation and identity help their whole families grow in holiness
Michelle and Nathan Stille are both lifelong parishioners of St. Theodore in Flint Hill. So when their oldest child was approaching school age, there was no doubt in their mind that they wanted him to receive a faith-filled education at St. Theodore School.
Now, with three children at St. Theodore — Jack, sixth grade; Elijah, fourth grade; and Anna, first grade — the Stilles turned to the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation to help make Catholic school financially feasible for their family.
The Stille children are among more than 4,600 students receiving scholarships through the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation during the 2025-26 school year. The foundation provides need-based scholarships to students attending private and parochial schools throughout the Archdiocese of St. Louis. It is supported by the Annual Catholic Appeal, individual and corporate donors, grants and funding from other local foundations.
“The scholarship that we receive through (TTEF) really just helps us to be able to send our kids to St. Theodore without added stress or worry financially,” Michelle Stille said. “We’re just so incredibly grateful because we know that there are lots of people in need.”
Over the years, Stille has seen her children’s faith nurtured at St. Theodore through a community that “leads with love,” she said. Her kids often share with her not just what they are learning in the classroom but also conversations about faith they are having with their friends.
Last summer, her son Jack participated in a flag football camp at St. Dominic High School. St. Dominic students served as coaches during camp, and they prayed with the participants every day.
One day after camp, Jack told her, “I really love religion at school and youth group. When we were praying with those high school students, I just had a thought: If I went to public school, I probably wouldn’t have that there, would I?” she recounted.
“It just makes me so thankful and so grateful to have those strong roots planted,” Stille said, “knowing that they’re going to grow up, and we have to let them go — they’re getting such a strong foundation.”
Katie Trower also has three children at St. Theodore School: seventh-grade Max, fifth-grade Olivia and third-grade George, with two more younger children still at home.
When the family moved out to the Flint Hill area and became members of St. Theodore Parish, they fell in love with the faith community that spanned the parish and the school.
“We made a choice that we wanted to invest in their education with the hopes that they would then contribute and strengthen this community as well, with that good educational foundation,” Trower said. “So we prayed on it and took a leap of faith and said, you know, God will provide and make a way to invest in their education.”
St. Theodore School’s motto is “Growing future saints,” and Trower said that describes the school environment perfectly. When she talks with her children about what they are learning in school, her daughter tells her often, “We talk about Jesus every day, and everything we do mentions Jesus’ name,” she said.
The welcoming environment is not just for students but for the whole family, she added. “We have a bigger family, so sometimes it can feel intimidating to go to things or to want to get involved at school, because we have so many kids — so noisy, so loud, kind of causing the distraction,” she said. “But St. Theodore has always been extremely open and welcoming. They want the whole family there as a family unit.”
When Max started school, both Trower and her husband were working; she now is a stay-at-home mom. Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation scholarships have made it possible for them to continue to afford to send their children to a Catholic school, even with the rising cost of living.
“It’s helped ease the burden as every year, the cost of things seems to be going up and up,” Trower said. “…We’re just really grateful it’s allowed us to have access to a Catholic education, and it’s allowed our kids a lot of opportunity.”
Apply for scholarships
The Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation, with its partners, the Roman Catholic Foundation of Eastern Missouri, the Annual Catholic Appeal, the Office of Catholic Education and Formation and others, offers more than $6 million in scholarships and financial aid to families each year. More than 4,600 students have received scholarships for the 2025-26 school year.
The scholarship application window for the 2026-27 school year opened Jan. 20. Families may apply for scholarships to attend any elementary school in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, any Catholic high school and any private elementary school in the city of St. Louis.
Families have the opportunity to apply for scholarship assistance through a unified online application, which is used for all scholarships funded by The Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation and its partners. Online applications are available at www.ttef-stl.org.
MOScholars applications are also open for students who are transferring from a public school to a private school, or entering kindergarten or first grade, and are within the income guidelines, or have an established IEP/ISP. Find more information and apply online at ttef-stl.org/moscholars-family.
