A grant from the FIRE Foundation of Northern Kentucky is helping St. Joseph School provide registered nursing support for kindergartner Eli Grout, a kidney transplant recipient.
The assistance is providing Eli’s family greater confidence as he begins school and making it possible for him to attend the same Catholic school as his older brother.
For Liza Grout and her husband, sending their children to St. Joseph once seemed like a natural choice. Both are St. Joseph alumni, and when they moved back to the area in 2019, they hoped their children would one day attend the school that had been an important part of their own lives.
That plan became less certain during Liza’s pregnancy with Eli, when the family learned he would have significant medical needs. Despite the unknowns and the difficult journey ahead, the Grouts held onto one goal: that Eli would be able to attend St. Joseph by the time he reached kindergarten.
“We always kept the goal in mind of getting him to St. Joseph by the time he started kindergarten,” said Liza Grout. “We feel so fortunate to have received a grant to help with that transition.”
The FIRE Foundation helps Catholic schools welcome and educate students with disabilities and learning differences. Its support can help schools overcome specific barriers that might otherwise prevent a child from accessing Catholic education. For the Grout family, the grant also helps the brothers remain together in the same school community.
Eli’s older brother is deeply protective of him, and Eli looks up to his big brother. Without adequate medical or educational support, families can face an extraordinarily difficult choice: separate siblings between schools or move all of their children away from Catholic education so one child can receive needed assistance.
“What a difficult decision it would be to pull one child out of Catholic school simply because another child needs support the school cannot otherwise provide,” Grout said “We know families, including some within our own parish, have had to face that choice.”
For Eli, the smaller school setting offers his family additional reassurance as they manage infection risks, while the close-knit, faith-filled community can give him encouragement and confidence during his formative years. The grant also expands St. Joseph’s ability to welcome children whose medical needs have historically made private Catholic education difficult or impossible to access.
“At FIRE, we believe Catholic schools are stronger when more children have the opportunity to learn, grow and belong alongside their peers,” said Missy Hail, president and co-founder of the FIRE Foundation of Northern Kentucky. “Our work is centered on helping schools welcome students with disabilities and learning differences, and sometimes that means finding a way around a very specific barrier. We’re grateful FIRE could help St. Joseph do that for Eli, allowing him to begin his Catholic school journey alongside his brother.”
Through the partnership among the Grout family, St. Joseph School, and the FIRE Foundation, Eli can begin kindergarten alongside his brother and within the Catholic community his parents once called home. The collaboration marks an important step in helping more children learn, grow, and belong within Catholic education.
St. Joseph Parish