The Dobbs Ferry Schools Foundation has announced the formation of a scholarship awards program for Dobbs Ferry High School. Beginning this year, the Foundation will devote up to 10% or $10 thousand of its budget annually to academic scholarships. The vast majority of scholarship funding will go toward academic achievement, with the remainder going toward a Personal Achievement award for outstanding contribution to school and community life.

"The Foundation is about raising academic standards. Our programs help the District make good resources available and the scholarships help motivate students to use them," says Judy Blackwell-Konowitch, president of the Foundation. "We recognize that in a small school district such as ours, making use of all the available resources is a very important component to a successful high school career."

This year, the Foundation voted to devote 70 percent of its scholarship budget, or $7 thousand, toward scholarships for the high school’s first International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma recipients. The prestigious IB program, an advanced learning program for high school students, has received substantial financial support from the Foundation over the last several years, and Foundation directors voted unanimously to award each IB candidate $1,000. "Instead of awarding 2 or 3 IB scholarships, as we may do in future years, this year we voted to recognize each IB diploma recipient. They represent the first IB class and we appreciate the hard work and trailblazing they have done," says Greg Falk, Chairman of the Foundation’s Scholarship Committee. This year’s IB Scholarship winners are Miriam Barry, Jacqui Ferrari, Neelam Gidwaney, Daniel Gombos, Noah Greenstein, Gautam Jadhav, and Hannah Park.

In addition to the IB scholarships, the Foundation has voted to award an annual "Personal Achievement" scholarship to recognize an individual who, while maintaining a solid academic performance, has distinguished his or herself through their involvement in school and the community. This scholarship is to recognize an individual for seeking out and using a variety of resources and outlets to enhance their own lives and the lives of people around them.

This year’s Personal Acheivement scholarship winner is Urmi Jani. All Foundation scholarships go toward the payment of college tuition.

Started in 1994, the Dobbs Ferry Schools Foundation has raised more than $2.7 million through individual contributions and educational grants. Working in cooperation with the administration and faculty from each of the three schools, Springhurst, the Middle School and the High School, the Board of Education, and the PTSA the Foundation gives financial support to creative educational programs that can not initially be funded by the school budget.