Apply for the John Cary Scholarship - Special Education Foundation of St. Louis

Introduction

The John Cary Scholarships are given in honor of John Cary, former Superintendent of Schools for the Special School District. As superintendent, John gave tirelessly of his time to students, staff and parents. A hallmark of John’s leadership was the caring and generous hand he extended to the Special Education Foundation. The John Cary Scholarships will be given to graduating students who receive services from the Special School District of St. Louis County – special education and/or technical education. The selected students will reflect the characteristics most admired by John Cary – resiliency, courage and determination.

The Special Education Foundation’s John Cary Scholarships are for $5,000 and can be used for tuition only. The scholarship must be used during the upcoming school year.

All applications must be complete for consideration and must include a copy of pages 1 and 2 of Form 1040 from the family’s most recent tax return. Selection is determined by a committee comprised of SEF Board, SSD Board, SSD Superintendent, former superintendents and Carol Cary.

Items considered for awarding of scholarships are:
- Student Essay - The essay should focus on student resiliency and determination to succeed.
- Letters of Recommendation - Two letters are required. One letter should be from the student’s SSD teacher (teachers will submit their letters separately). The other should be from a professional (school counselor, minister, etc.) Letters should reflect student’s determination to succeed, how they've achieved success beyond expectations, and should provide specific examples of each.
- Financial Need
- Academics
- Activities
You will have an opportunity to upload supporting materials at the end of the online application.

Requirements:

The absence of any one of these requirements will disqualify your application or adversely impact its evaluation.
- The essay must be written by the student and be specifically to the Special Education Foundation’s mission. It must also state why the scholarship is requested and how it will benefit the applicant.
- The application must be complete. All information must be submitted in the application form. Attachments, such as resumes in place of the information requested in the form, will NOT be accepted.
- Writing should be clear and accurate.
- All information should be received by SEF as one unit, except for the teacher's letter of recommendation. SSD teachers will submit their letters separately.
- Student transcript (official copy not required).
Questions? Contact SEF at 314-394-7030 or email info@sef-stl.org

NOTE: You can save your progress on this form and return within 30 days to finish your submission. Just click "Save and Continue Later" to use this feature.

ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ONLINE! Click here for a PDF preview of the form questions.

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Applicant's Information
Name of Applicant*
First Last
Home Address*
Street Address Address Line 2 City State ZIP Code
Home Phone*
Parent or Legal Guardian's Name*
First Last
Parent or Legal Guardian's Email*
Parent or Legal Guardian's Work/Cell Phone*
Parent or Legal Guardian's Address
Fill out only if this is different from the applicant's address.

Street Address Address Line 2 City State ZIP Code
Applicant's Date of Birth*
MM slash DD slash YYYY
Gender

Male

Female

Other

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Applicant's SSD Teacher Information
This information should be filled in by the student.
In which SSD program is the applicant enrolled?*

Career/Technical

Special Education
School*

District*

School Address*
Street Address Address Line 2 City State ZIP Code

Name of School Counselor*

Name of SSD Teacher*

Teacher's Email*

Teacher's VM*

Diagnosis/IEP*
Check all that apply.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Hearing Impaired
Other Health Impaired
Learning Disabled
Physically Impaired
Vision Impaired
Speech/Language Impaired
Developmentally Disabled
None
Service*
Itinerant
Resource
Self-Contained
Other
What other kind of service is provided?*

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Student's Application
Schools Attended in the Last Four Years*
Date Enrolled School Name City/State Grade Level Completed

To what school or program would scholarship support be applied?*
Include the name of school or program and city, state and zip.
Estimate minimum funds required to attend chosen school or program in the upcoming school year or program session.*
Applicant's Statement of Financial Need*

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Student's Application (Continued)
Academics: Grade Point Average (GPA)*

Class Rank*

Activities, including but not limited to: arts, athletics, community service, volunteer activities, employment.*
Awards: Provide information regarding any awards and/or recognition received. *
Are you the recipient of any other college scholarship(s) or tuition assistance?*

Yes

No
What other college scholarship(s) or tuition assistance have you received?*

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Student's Essay
Write an essay stating the reasons for needing this scholarship, including the expected benefits from attending the school or program. Please write about your resiliency, your determination to succeed and obstacles overcome and give examples of all. Include any information that you feel would help to convince the committee that you deserve this scholarship.
Write your essay below.*

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Two letters are required. One letter should be from the student’s SSD teacher. Teachers will submit their letters in a different form.

The other should be from a professional (school counselor, minister, etc.) Letters should reflect the student’s determination to succeed, his/her achievement beyond expectations and provide specific examples of each. You may upload the letter here, or the letter writer can mail their letter to our office at Special Education Foundation:

11933 Westline Industrial Drive
St. Louis, MO 63146 – 3203.

Your family's most recent tax return (pages 1 and 2 of Form 1040) must be uploaded. Please make sure to white out all social security numbers on your family’s tax return. We also need your student transcript, but we don't need an official copy.
Will the second (non-teacher) letter be mailed or uploaded now?*

It will be mailed.

I will upload it.
Upload Files
Letter From a Professional (School Counselor, Minister, etc.)*
Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf, Max. file size: 20 MB.
Pages 1 and 2 of Form 1040 From Your Family's Most Recent Tax Return*
IMPORTANT! Make sure to remove sensitive information not related to your financial status from submitted documents.
Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf, Max. file size: 20 MB.
Student Transcript (Official Copy Not Required)*
Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf, Max. file size: 20 MB.
Applicant's Parent/Guardian Signature*

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Step 1 of 7

Introduction

Requirements:

Applicant's Information

Applicant's SSD Teacher Information

Student's Application

Student's Application (Continued)

Student's Essay

Upload Files