See Article VIII of the Constitution.
See also, the FCB Scholarships link on the FCB home page: www.fcb.org.
The Education and Leadership Committee's major focus is the educational needs and concerns of students who are blind or visually impaired, as well as those of their teachers and families.
The committee coordinates the FCB scholarship program. Scholarships not only support and encourage academic excellence, but also publicize and promote FCB and its mission, vision, and guiding principles. This Committee facilitates the program by:
1. Establishing scholarship criteria;
2. Publicizing scholarship availability;
3. Disseminating applications to teachers, counselors, and other resource personnel of potential applicants;
4. Receiving and screening applications for eligibility; and
5. Selecting scholarship recipients
The FCB link noted above will take you to a webpage that sets forth the official scholarship rules and required supporting documents as determined by the Education and Leadership Committee. This webpage contains such items as:
1. Descriptions of the FCB scholarships;
2. Scholarship amounts;
3. Eligibility requirements;
4. Procedures for applying for these scholarships;
5. Downloads of the scholarship application and the Certification of Visual Status Form; and
6. Contact information that applicants and other interested persons can use to reach the committee chair.
While an applicant may be qualified for either the Gayle M. Krause-Edwards Scholarship or the Teresa Blessing Scholarship, he/she can only receive one of these scholarships in any given year.
An applicant may not apply for any FCB scholarship if he/she was awarded an FCB scholarship in the immediately preceding year.
Currently, scholarship funding protocols are as follows:
1. Funding for all scholarships is provided by FCB.
2. Each year, this Committee must request funding for scholarships from the FCB Budget and Finance Committee. Once the FCB Budget & Finance Committee approves the request, it presents it as a line item on the proposed annual FCB budget for approval at the FCB Convention.
3. This committee may not change scholarship amounts without approval from the FCB Budget and Finance Committee and the FCB Board.
4. Should this committee wish to increase scholarship amounts beyond the budgeted amount, it must present a funding request to the FCB Budget & Finance Committee and the FCB Board for approval.
5. Should this committee wish to create a new scholarship, it must present a funding request to the FCB Budget and Finance Committee, the Executive Committee, and then the general membership for approval.
6. If a scholarship is not awarded in any given year, the dollars budgeted for that scholarship revert back to FCB.
FCB chapters and affiliates are expected to invite, mentor, and encourage scholarship recipients in their jurisdiction.
This committee is also responsible for stressing the importance of leadership skills in the proper administration of FCB and its chapters and affiliates. It also promotes programs that encourage development of personal and administrative skills.