Suggested Guidelines
for
DISTRICT
and
REGION
JUDGING
(Online or in person meeting)
to the
SCHOLARSHIP
PROGRAM
Rev 2/15
Scholarship Guide for
DISTRICT DIRECTORS, ASSISTANTS
and REGION JUDGES
1. Appoint a District Assistant.
2. Provide the District Assistant with current materials, including Illinois PTA Bulletin articles.
3. Keep informed of any changes in the program.
4. Be knowledgeable about the entire Scholarship Program.
5. Promote scholarship in the District.
6. Meet with Council Chairmen to pool ideas and plan a District Scholarship Promotional Program.
7. Make all preparations for the Scholarship Selection meeting:
 Site (if in person meeting)
 Letters of invitation
 Applications
8. Maintain a permanent file:
 List of scholarship recipients, kept up-to-date
 Copies of all letters received and sent
 Copy of Selection Committee Report
9. Plan a display.
10. Promote scholarships through workshops at:
 Schools of Information
 Annual Meetings
 Special Conferences
 Scholarship Lunches/Dinners
 Through the use of PTA Scholarship winners as speakers or panel participants, whenever
possible
11. Share: Promotional ideas, Publicity ideas, Special Projects, Concerns
with the Illinois PTA State Scholarship Chairman. All units and
councils working together can make the Scholarship Program continue to grow.
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DESCRIPTION:
The Illinois PTA Scholarship is:
1. Awarded two scholarships in Illinois with 1st place $3,000 and 2nd place $2,000.
2. One-time, one-year, non-renewable, non-repayable awards to
a. graduating seniors attending public high schools;
b. grade point average of 3.0 or above in a non-weighted 4.0 scale;
c. enrolled in a college or university in the field of education or
an education-related degree program.
PROCESS FOR APPLICANT:
The applicant must access the application only online at the www.illinoispta.org
website. The application will have a link on the homepage.
The application must be completed only online with 7th semester transcripts (not
official) and a photo attached
The deadline date is February 16, 2015.
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SCHOLARSHIP SELECTION COMMITTEE
ONLINE JUDGING – The District Director will receive from the
Illinois PTA State office the applications, transcripts and tally sheet by
a disc. Each application and transcript will have its own unique ID
number. The application and transcript will be in PDF format. The
director can send to the selection committee members the tally sheets,
applications and transcripts through email.
DISTRICT:
It is recommended that the following guide be followed in organizing the District Selection Committee:
1. The objectives of the selection committee are to review and assess the qualifications of all eligible
applicants – looking at the students as a total personality. Therefore the Scholarship Committee has
designed tally sheets which will be sent to the directors electronically.
2. The Scholarship Committee feels that the use of these forms will give basic equality to all applicants
by providing unified and impartial selection, statewide.
3. The Scholarship Committee does not recommend personal interviews.
4. Ten is the ideal number on the committee, but five or more is acceptable. It would be best if not more
than two being from the same school.
5. It is very important to balance the committee with educators and community members.
6. The District Director and /or Scholarship Chairman must be present if having in-person judging.
7. Suggested members include:
 Council president and/or Scholarship Chairman
 District or Regional Superintendents or their representatives
 Principals and/or guidance counselors of all public high schools in the district.
 College representatives, if nearby
 Teachers
 Business people from the community
8. The District committee will email its two (2) top applicants to the Region Director by March 11,2015
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REGION:
It is recommended that the following guide be followed in organizing the Region Selection Committee:
1. The objectives of the selection committee are to review and assess the qualifications of all eligible
applicants – looking at the students as a total personality. Therefore the Scholarship Committee has
designed tally sheets which will be sent to the directors electronically.
2. The Scholarship Committee feels that the use of these forms will give basic equality to all applicants
by providing unified and impartial selection, statewide.
3. The Scholarship Committee does not recommend personal interviews.
4. Ideally one person who was on the district selection committee should be on the Region Selection
Committee.
5. Region Director and/or Scholarship Chairman must be present if having in-person judging.
6. The Committee will select a 1st place and 2nd place recipient. These applicants will then be emailed
to the Illinois PTA Scholarship Director by March 20, 2015 for final judging throughout the state.
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PREPARATIONS FOR SCHOLARSHIP SELECTION
COMMITTEE
1.
SITE (if judged in person)
Select a conveniently located meeting place and date. The date must be as soon as possible after March
1st. Suggestions: Use the school that has the winning student as the host for the next year.
2.
LETTERS (January/Early February)

Write letters inviting members to serve on the Selection Committee. Letters, rather
than contact by phone, are more professional and orderly.

Stress the importance of each member’s participation and ask them to let you know
immediately if they are not able to serve.

Replace anyone unable to serve immediately after you are notified.

Advise committee members that the time required will depend on the number of
applications to be considered.
A Scholarship Letter stating that the application can be accessed on the website at www.illinoispta.org is
mailed in November to every public high school in Illinois. We no longer send out a packet of
applications to the schools.
It is important that you visit or contact ALL HIGH SCHOOLS in your District, especially speaking with
the principal or counselor.


3.
Ask them to encourage students to apply
Ask if they post a communication concerning our scholarship in a student common area
REVIEW (February)
Review the list of participants on the Selection Committee and make sure the committee has a balance
of educators and community members. You may have to invite more people to participate.
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CONDUCTING THE SELECTION MEETING
(if judging is held in person)
1. Start promptly. The District Director and/or Scholarship Assistant convene the Selection
Committee and together conduct the business of the day.
2. Inform the committee that the applications to be considered were assessed by the Illinois PTA
Scholarship Chairman and they have met the following criteria :




Arrived online on or before February 16th;
Are from public high school students;
Are seniors with a grade point average of 3.0 or above in a non-weighted 4.0 scale;
Are students planning to enroll in a college or university in education or an educationrelated degree program, which requires certification from a state board of education.
3. Establish the point system to be used. Points are to be given for:





Student statements;
Scholastic ability;
Leadership ability;
School activities;
Out-of-school activities.
4. Read the information pertaining to SAT and/or ACT scores found later in this document.
5. Ask for questions and discussion. Encourage comments by the educators on the committee for the
benefit of new committee members.
6. DO NOT PASS THE APPLICATIONS AROUND UNLESS all information which might
identify the applicant has been masked.
7. After all applications have been read, you may review or re-read any applications or parts of
applications, so that all questions can be answered about the applicant.
8. Select First Place and Second Place (for Districts) First Place and Second Place winners (for
Regions).
District winners must be sent to the Region Director by March 11, 2015 and the Region winners must
be sent to the Illinois PTA Scholarship Director by March 20, 2015 for selection by the State Scholarship
Committee.
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RE: SAT and ACT SCORES
PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH THE SELECTION COMMITTEE
BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE SELECTION PROCESS.
SAT and ACT scores are not, by any means, the sole determining factor in admission to college.
High school performance is the most important factor in the admission process.
Test scores are used as a supplement to the high school record to determine if students need special
assistance in completing their college program, and along with other data, to provide a profile of the
school’s student body.
To put too much emphasis on the ACT or SAT is not giving a fair chance to the student who may be a
poor “test-taker” or who has had personal or family problems (i.e. illness, death) on the test day.
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ILLINOIS PTA
Report of the Scholarship District Selection Committee
District #
Date of Selection Meeting
PTA Scholarship Recipients:
1st
Place
Unique ID
2nd
Place
Unique ID
Report of the Scholarship Selection Committee
Number of Applications considered
Number of members on Selection Committee
Please list names, indicating whether they represent the parent/volunteer or administrative community:
**Please send one copy to ,
Illinois PTA Scholarship Director,
no later than March 11, 2015.
Barb Miller
Illinois PTA Scholarship Director
1184 N. 1800 East Road
Taylorville, IL 62568
Bmiller@illinoispta.org
Comments:
, District Director
(Signature)
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ILLINOIS PTA
Report of the Scholarship Region Selection Committee
Region
Date of Selection Meeting
PTA Scholarship Recipients:
1st
Place
Unique ID
2nd
Place
Unique ID
Report of the Scholarship Selection Committee
Number of Applications considered
Number of members on Selection Committee
Please list names, indicating whether they represent the parent/volunteer or administrative community:
**Please send one copy to
Illinois PTA Scholarship Director
no later than March 20, 2015
Barb Miller
Illinois PTA Scholarship Director
1184 N. 1800 East Road
Taylorville, IL 62568
Bmiller@illinoispta.org
Comments:
, Region Director
(Signature)
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After the Selection Meeting
DISTRICT
BY MARCH 11, 2015:
1. Send to Barb Miller, Illinois PTA Scholarship Director:
 The Selection Committee Report Form.
2. Send to your Region Selection Committee:
 Applications of the two winners
 District Director’s Report Form
3. Retain all other applications in your file for one year.
LETTERS TO BE WRITTEN From District: (Within a week of selection committee meeting)
1.
“Thank you” to members of the selection committee and to host school.
2.
We would normally send letters to the non-winners and those proceeding to the next level, but due to
the anonymous judging, the State Director will now be doing this all at once after State judging.
REGION
BY MARCH 20, 2015:
1. Send to Barb Miller, Illinois PTA Scholarship Director:
The applications of the two winners
The Selection Committee Report Form.
LETTERS TO BE WRITTEN From Region Selection Committee: (Within a week of selection committee
meeting)
1. “Thank you” to members of the selection committee and to host school.
2.
We would normally send letters to the non-winners and those proceeding to the next level, but due to
the anonymous judging, the State Director will now be doing this all at once after State judging.
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