Teachers' Union Scholarship Fund Awards $80,000 to DCPS High School Seniors; Cultivates the Next Generation of Educators

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)DC Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC Mayor Vincent C. Gray, DC Councilmembers and Metro Council President Jos Williams joined the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) Scholarship Fund in presenting four outstanding DC public school high school seniors with $20,000 scholarships to pursue teaching careers in D.C. Public Schools at the “Honoring Our Past, Ensuring Our Future 45th Anniversary & Scholarship Gala” last Saturday. “Our students are committed and passionate about education and we are proud that the scholarship fund is available to assist graduating DCPS students,” said WTU President Nathan A. Saunders (below at right). Williams congratulated Local 6 on its 45th anniversary, calling it “a major accomplishment for any union – in just five more years you’ll be at the half-century mark – but it’s even more impressive in these days when teachers – indeed any public sector worker – seems to have a huge target on their back for every budget-slashing right-winger looking to score political points.” Since its inception, the WTU fund has awarded more than 75 scholarships worth an estimated $1.5 million dollars to DCPS students, who have gone on to pursue teaching degrees at various universities including Yale, Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of the District of Columbia. - photos (L-R) above: WTU Executive Board Member Keith Spinner and Scholarship Recipient Rica Spriggs; below: WTU Executive Board Member Diane Terrell, Scholarship Recipient Joshua Johnson, and WTU President Nathan A. Saunders; photos courtesy WTU