Big news to announce today: the Rader Ward Memorial Scholarship application is open! The Rader Ward Foundation will award need-based partial scholarships to three Montessori schools in our area, Greenville County, S.C.
The happiest years of Rader's life were those he spent as a student at Montessori School of Mauldin, from age three through fifth grade. An exceptionally bright and creative child, Rader began to feel stifled and discouraged once he was enrolled in public middle school. We know there are other elementary- and middle-school-aged children whose needs are not well met by the traditional educational model. We hope to help some of those who aren't easily able to afford tuition to a school more appropriate to their learning styles.
Our three partner schools are Five Oaks Academy, Montessori School of Greenville, and Montessori School of Mauldin. Parents may apply for their students to any or all of the schools (each school has its own enrollment application). The Rader Ward Scholarship application only needs to be completed once for consideration for aid to any of the three schools. Our scholarship application organization, FAST, charges a $45 fee to apply.
We are not yet sure how many scholarships we will award each year or to each school, or what the exact amount of the awards will be. As we determine what the needs are in our community, and how best to budget to sustain our ability to give into the future, those numbers should become clearer.
If you know someone whose creative student is struggling to succeed in a traditional educational setting, please pass along our information to them.