BOARD POLICY 5218
The Mary Adelaide Conley English Scholarship Award
Introduction
The late Mary Adelaide Conley was a teacher in the English Department at Ironton High School
for eighteen (18) years: 1967-1985. Mrs. Conley was an outstanding teacher in every aspect of the profession: well prepared, highly capable, very sincere and dedicated, and extremely successful. In addition to her professional prowess, Mrs. Conley was a delightful and personable individual, possessing those personal charismatic qualities befitting the best in womanhood. She was admired, loved and respected by all who really knew her, especially those whose good fortune it was to have been in her English, writing, and literature classes at Ironton High School.
The Mary Adelaide Conley English Scholarship Award was initiated and formulated by teachers and other employees in the Ironton City Schools shortly after her untimely death in May of 1985. Staff members, both certified and noncertified joined in this memorial, as did family, friends, and relatives in establishing the scholarship award and in providing funds for same.
It shall be the Policy of the Ironton City Board of Education to follow the procedures and provisions listed below in executing the wishes of those who initiated and established the Mary Adelaide Conley English Scholarship Award:
1. The original and ensuing funds for the Mary Adelaide Conley Scholarship Award shall be deposited in the bank or savings and loan, which is federally insured, in the City of Ironton. The institution shall be selected or chosen by the Ironton City Board of Education.
2. The Treasurer of the Ironton City School District shall have the responsibility of opening the account, making deposits, and disbursing monetary awards, as approved and directed by the Ironton City Board of Education.
3. The annual monetary award shall be the amount of accrued interest from the fund for a period of
May 1 to May 1 of each succeeding year.
4. The Scholarship Award shall be presented to an Ironton High School senior in each year’s graduating class, beginning with the Class of 1986. The Scholarship Award shall be presented at the Ironton High School Commencement Exercises. Presentations shall be made by the (then) president of the Ironton City Board of Education (or his/her designee).
5. The Scholarship Award shall be an annual “one-time” Award. It cannot be awarded to the same person more than once. Thus, the Award is not renewable from one year to the next to the same recipient.
6. The counselor (s) at Ironton High School shall choose the five (5) students from each graduating class at I.H.S., who rank highest in combined English scores based upon: final class averages for the four years of high school English ( at the end of the third nine weeks in Senior year ); and ACT English scores. The five (5) named or nominated students shall be presented to the Ironton City Board of Education by May 1 of each school year.
7. The Ironton City Board of Education shall have the sole power and authority to choose one student from the list of five nominees for the Scholarship Award. Such factors as scholarship, test scores, citizenship, motivation for self-improvement, and financial need may be used by the Board of Education in the selection process but these need not be exclusive factors.
8. The decision of the Ironton City School Board in the matter of the selection of the Award winner is final. There shall be no appeal.
9. The Scholarship Award shall be made only to a student who plans to (and actually does) enter college or some other institution of higher learning or advanced training beyond public school. The Award money shall not be paid directly to the winning student, but to the financial aid office of the chosen institution which will earmark said funds for the recipient’s education. The Award money may be used for tuition, room and board, supplies, other such needs, as designated by the student. The Award money shall be paid to the designated school or educational institution no later than September 1 of the year in which the Award is granted.
10. In the event a chosen student should decline the Scholarship Award, the Award shall pass to the next student selected by the Board of Education. In the event that none of the five (5) nominees choose to accept the Award and not enter higher or advanced education, the Scholarship Award shall be applied to the principal.
8-12-85
Revised 5-16-88