| Ferndale School District |
| Bylaws & Policies |
5451.01 - JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY AWARD
The Board of Education will present, each year, the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Award to one (1) male and one (1) female student in the senior classes of both Ferndale High School and University High School who have best shown, through accomplishment in scholarship and service, values that can be derived from education.
More specifically, the John F. Kennedy Award provides an annual opportunity for members of the community, teachers, and administrators to nominate and recognize students who demonstrate an outstanding combination of basic scholarship and individual responsibility. The nominees should exemplify, in no particular order, the goals of public education.
The characteristics listed here serve as general guidelines for the selection committee. Nominees should exemplify outstanding qualities of the following:
| A. | Integrity | |
| B. | Athletic Contributions | |
| C. | Maturity | |
| D. | Cultural Contributions | |
| E. | Industry | |
| F. | Citizenship | |
| G. | Scholarship | |
| H. | School Support | |
| I. | Community Support | |
| J. | High Aspirations (personal goals) |
Committee Members
Participation on the JFK Scholarship Selection Committee comes with the responsibility to make a fair decision. Discussions regarding the nominees will be kept confidential, and will not be repeated after the meeting. The names of the selected students are kept in strict confidence until announced by the Board President during the Commencement ceremony. Only the committee members, and the Community Relations Office staff who process the recognition plaques and checks will know the names in advance.
The selection committees for each school will include the following members, some of whom have designated tasks:
| A. | Superintendent | |
| B. | Board of Education Representative - Appointed at July Organizational Meeting | |
| C. | High School Principal | |
| D. | National Honor Society Sponsor(s) - Bring NHS Activity Information to Share with the Committee | |
| E. | Student Government Sponsor(s) - Bring Summary of Nominee Activities | |
| F. | College Support Staff (i.e., Transition Specialist at UHS) - Bring College Plans, Summary of College Applications and Scholarships, Career Goals (from school counselor) | |
| G. | PTA Parent Representative - Appointed by School PTA President | |
| H. | Director of Community Relations - non-voting member/facilitator |
Nomination and Selection Process
Each year, nominations will be collected from mid-April until three (3) weeks prior to Commencement. The selection meeting will be held no fewer than eight (8) business days prior to Commencement, to allow time to process scholarship plaques and checks.
One (1) week prior to the selection meeting, committee members will receive a packet containing the following materials regarding the nominees:
| A. | A worksheet with all nominees in alphabetical order, sorted by males and females. The sheet provides the students' GPAs and Class Rank, and committee members can use it to make notes. | |
| B. | Each student's transcript and current class schedule. | |
| C. | All nomination forms received. |
Scholarship Selection Committee Meeting Procedures
| A. | A general overview of the scholarship's purpose and selection guidelines will be reviewed by the Director of Community Relations. | |
| B. | The nominees will be discussed as a group by gender, males, then females. Each nominee, will be discussed individually. |
| 1. | A general overview will be made of the student's academic history. | ||
| 2. | Committee members will add any information they have about the student's contributions to their high school, plus any extra-curricular activities. | ||
| 3. | After all nominees of each gender are discussed thoroughly, the committee members will be handed blank ballots on which to write the name of the student they believe best fits the attributes of the JFK Scholarship Award, and best represents the current graduating class as the JFK Scholar. | ||
| 4. | Ballots will be folded in half and submitted to the Director of Community Relations who will open them. If there is a majority vote for one student (with seven (7) voting members, one student must receive at least four (4) votes to be declared the winner), that student will be declared the winner. However, if there are divided votes, new discussions will be held of all those who were voted for, and ballots will be recast until a majority winner occurs. | ||
| 5. | All materials provided to the committee members will be returned to the Director of Community Relations at the end of the selection meeting and shredded. Only the names of the winners will ever be discussed, names of nominees will never be publicized. |
Commencement Announcement
| A. | Plaques for each winner will be produced with the $1,000.00 scholarship check attached to the back. The Plaques will be on the podium at Commencement for the Board of Education President to present. | |
| B. | At the designated point in the ceremony, the Board President will read the official resolution and announce the winners. S/He will read a short description of the student's accomplishments. | |
| C. | A photo of the winners with their plaques will be submitted to area media for publicity, and printed in the District newsletter. |
Adopted 5/29/01
Revised 7/14/08
Revised 8/18/09