The Springfield Education Association (SEA) is offering a scholarship for students who plan to pursue a career in public school teaching.  The scholarship is open to any graduating senior who has attended a District #186 high school for at least one year, or to a student whose parent or legal guardian is an employee of District #186, provided the student is enrolled in a public school.

The scholarship is designed to assist a deserving student who plans to become a public school teacher.  Students chosen for the scholarship(s) will receive $2,500 payable over four years with a copy of their transcripts and/or proof of enrollment.

All applicant packets must be submitted to Springfield Education Association, Attn: Scholarship Committee,  3440 Liberty Drive, Springfield, IL 62704 by March 31, 2023.

Finalists should be available to be interviewed on April 27, 2023, by representatives of the SEA Scholarship Committee.  Scholarship recipients/continuants will be announced by the end of May 2023 or at the recipients’ Awards Assembly, if applicable.

The scholarship was instituted in honor of Sue Handy, a Springfield educator who taught at Butler Elementary for many years. Sue wanted to encourage students to become teachers and had dreamed of creating such a scholarship. Before she was able to put it in place, she lost her battle with cancer. The scholarship was instituted in honor of Sue Handy, and had been continued under the auspices of the SEA.

• 2023 Sue Handy Applicant Letter
• 2023 Sue Handy Application & Background Info

SEA will hold an election all day on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in your school buildings. Please check with your building Association Representative so you know where to vote in your building.

If you have questions, please contact SEA President Aaron Graves.

The Springfield Education Association will host a “Meet the Candidates Night” at Southeast High School on Tuesday, Feb. 7 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. This is an opportunity for school employees and the public to meet the candidates running for Springfield 186 Board of Education. Please contact SEA President Aaron Graves for more information.

Please consider donating to the Sue Handy Scholarship Fund. The scholarship provides financial assistance for students who are majoring in education.  Donations can be made by completing the Sue Handy Scholarship Payroll Deduction Form and returning to the SEA office.

“Sue Handy was a special person, friend and teacher. Wherever she went & whatever she was doing, she did it with warmth, love, and laughter. I taught first graders at the same school with Sue for several years. She was an inspiration to see her in action. Her enthusiasm showed that she enjoyed teaching very much and was wildly effective in motivating the children. A person often could hear her laughter coming from her classroom as she was cheering a student for doing well. The children in her classroom felt her love for them… absolutely. Sue would be humbled knowing that a scholarship would be named after her. She would have a good laugh.”

– Linda Johnson-Kabisch, retired SEA member, teacher and friend of Sue Handy.

Organizing is not about selling membership. The soap manufacturers don’t sell soap, they sell clean hands. People don’t buy soap for the sake of owning their own bar: People buy soap because they want clean hands. Similarly, people don’t buy a drill bit to own the bit: People want to make a hole in something. The same principle applies to unions. People don’t pay union dues to buy a union membership card: People want control over their work lives and protection from arbitrary management. People pay union dues to get a better life. They pay dues for change and hope. People will become union members and union stalwarts to become part of a powerful, democratic, responsive, winning organization. Organizing for power functions to build a union power: It increases membership as a result.

– Author unknown