MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Applications are now being accepted for three pupil transportation scholarships that the recipients will be able to apply toward college costs for the 2018-2019 academic year.
An Alabama public high school senior will be eligible to receive the Alabama School Transportation Association (ASTA) Conference Charles “Chuck” Poland Education Scholarship.
The scholarship is named for Charles Poland, a school bus driver from Dale County who stood between an armed attacker and the students on his school bus and sacrificed his life to protect the children, being shot and killed by a lone gunman as he drove his route in Midland City, Alabama, on January 29, 2013.
The scholarship is a one-time, $1,000 education scholarship awarded to a deserving public school student whose parent or guardian is an active pupil transportation employee for the past three years. A student qualifies by graduating from a public high school and then attending a postsecondary educational institution in 2018-2019. Eligible students must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA and are selected based on leadership, citizenship, and service. The $1,000 scholarship can be used for any part of the student’s 2017-2018 school year tuition, books, or fees.
Each school system may select a local winner and submit the winning application to the State ASTA Selection Committee no later than April 27, 2018. The finalist will be notified no later than May 31, 2018. Applications are due no later than April 27, 2018, and the awards will be announced prior to May 31, 2018.
An Alabama public high school senior will be eligible to receive the Southeastern States Pupil Transportation Conference Student Scholarship.
The Southeastern States Pupil Transportation Conference (SESPTC) is a Virginia non-profit corporation created over 67 years ago to host an annual conference focused on educating student transportation professionals working in the southeast.
This year, the SESPTC Board has approved one $2,500 scholarship to be awarded to a deserving student in each of the 14 southeastern states. The scholarship funds must be used to cover education expenses at a postsecondary educational institution and will be paid to the institution in support of a student’s 2018-2019 school year expenses.
To qualify, a parent/guardian family must have a gross taxable income less than $75,000 for each of the past five tax years and a parent/guardian of the student must have been actively employed in public school transportation for the past five years.
A student qualifies by graduating from a public high school and then attending a postsecondary educational institution in 2018. The $2,500 scholarship can be used for any part of the student’s 2018-2019 school year tuition, books, or fees.
Eligible applicants include any of the following transportation staff: bus drivers, bus aides/monitors, bus mechanics, directors of student transportation services, bus supervisors, bus driver trainers, bus safety inspectors, and many other positions either employed by a school district, their contractors, a state school, or the Alabama State Department of Education. Only one application from each school system or district will be judged at the state level. Applications shall not be submitted to the state by student applicants. Applications are due no later than April 27, 2018, and the awards will be announced prior to May 31, 2018.
Lastly, an Alabama public high school senior will be eligible to receive the Alabama School Transportation Association (ASTA) Conference Greg Ray Memorial Education Scholarship.
The Scholarship is named for Greg Ray, who passed away in October 2015. In his long career of service, Greg served as a shop foreman for the Baldwin County Schools, Inspection Program Supervisor for the Alabama State Department of Education, and finally Fleet Manager for the Mobile County Schools. He also chaired the Alabama School Bus Specifications Committee for many years and is noted for starting the Alabama’s Best Technician/Inspector Competition for the Alabama School Transportation Association. This scholarship is being provided by Transportation South in Pelham, Alabama, in honor and memory of Greg’s notable service to the public schools of Alabama.
The scholarship is a one-time, $2,000 education scholarship awarded to a deserving public school student whose parent or guardian is an active pupil transportation employee for the past three years. A student qualifies by graduating from a public high school and then attending a postsecondary education institution in 2018-2019. Eligible students must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA and are selected based on leadership, citizenship, and service. The $2,000 scholarship can be used for any part of the student’s 2018-2019 school year tuition, books, or fees.
Each school system will select a local winner and submit the winning application to the State ASTA Selection Committee no later than April 27, 2018. The finalist will be notified no later than May 31, 2018.
To assure that all eligible students have an opportunity to apply for this scholarship, please help distribute this information to your transportation staff and high school counselors. Applications are due no later than April 27, 2018, and the award will be announced prior to May 31, 2018.
