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DON SAHLI-KATHY WOODALL SCHOLARSHIP

APPLY BY MARCH 1, 2024

 

The Don Sahli Scholarship Fund was established in 1971 to honor Dr. Donald G. Sahli, executive secretary of the Tennessee Education Association at the time. When he retired in 1976, gifts from educators assured continuation of the Don Sahli Scholarship Fund for members of the Student Tennessee Education Association. Today, many locals contribute annually to the fund, which has grown from granting one scholarship to granting ten. 

 

Donald G. Sahli was a man who appreciated the value of a scholarship, regardless of the size. A scholarship lightened many burdens for him as he struggled financially while attending college, especially as he worked for his master's and doctorate degrees at Ohio State University.

 

Sahli brought a broad background of experience — as a high school teacher of mathematics and history, high school principal, college instructor and dean, and superintendent — to TEA when he joined the staff in 1956 as Director of Public Relations.

 

The TEA Board of Directors elected him to the Association's top executive position in January 1963. He retired in 1976 as executive secretary emeritus.

 

Under Sahli's leadership, TEA membership increased significantly: the staff increased from five to thirty-two; the TEA headquarters building mortgage was burned; the TEA and Tennessee Education Congress merged successfully; professional liability insurance and the UniServ field service program were established; and members approved the unification of the local, state and national Associations.

 

Sahli was the first Association executive secretary in the country to serve on the Education Commission of the States. He also served on the executive committee of the National Council of State Education Associations.

 

A national colleague declared, "Dr. Sahli's contributions to the teaching profession are etched on the mileposts of educational progress in Tennessee and the nation."

 

To honor Kathy Woodall, the TEA Board of Directors created the Don Sahli-Kathy Woodall Scholarship Fund as an honor and memorial to the only TEA President to die while in office. Kathryn C. Woodall died at her home September 6, 1996, after a long battle with cancer. Woodall began her second two-year term as president in July 1996.

 

Woodall was a native of Cheatham County and a proud graduate of Austin Peay State University. She was an educator in the Metro Nashville Public Schools for 28 years, concluding her work there as a guidance counselor at Gra-Mar Elementary School.

 

A lifetime Association member and activist, Woodall was president of the Metro Nashville Education Association in 1987-88. She was elected to the TEA Board of Directors and served in that position from 1988 to 1991. From 1992 until her election to the TEA presidency in 1994, she served Tennessee teachers as TEA vice president.

 

As TEA president, Woodall initiated the idea that Tennessee should "celebrate the success" of public schools and made that the theme of her presidency.

 

She played a major role in helping pass legislation that guaranteed safer schools in Tennessee and in gaining legislation which no longer required teachers to perform medical procedures on students with special needs. She lobbied successfully for a reduction in class sizes while MNEA president and, as TEA president, for funding to reduce class sizes statewide.​

 

Woodall was a strong-willed, no-nonsense professional woman whose voice and demeanor commanded respect for her and the teachers she represented. A caring, compassionate person, she loved the children with whom she worked and, most especially, her family.​

 

In her eulogy, a close friend said, "Though Kathy was a teacher first and always, she will be remembered for her strong teacher leadership in Nashville and Tennessee. She enjoyed going head-to-head for teachers and taking on anyone who dared not to believe in public schools or public school educators."​

 

Individuals or organizations wishing to make tax deductible contributions to the Sahli-Woodall Scholarship Fund can request more information or send checks to:​

 

Sahli-Woodall Scholarship Fund

Tennessee Education Association

801 Second Avenue North

Nashville, TN 37201-1099

615.242.8392 or 1.800.342.8367

 

(All applications are in PDF format)

 

Student Tennessee Education Association (STEA)

  • One $2,000 scholarship awarded to the president of the Student Tennessee Education Association (STEA)

  • One $1,500 scholarship awarded to an STEA member

  • Two $750 scholarships awarded to STEA members

  • Application deadline: March 1

  • Application must be made through the local STEA Chapter.
     

Sons and Daughters

  • One $1,000 scholarship to a TEA member's child who is a high school senior, undergraduate, or graduate student planning to major in education

  • Application deadline: March 1

  • Application must be made by the TEA member parent of the applicant.
     

Future Teachers of America

  • One $1,000 scholarship to a high school senior planning to major in education

  • Application deadline: March 1

  • Application must be made by an FTA Chapter affiliated with TEA.
     

Johnella Martin Memorial

  • One $1,000 scholarship to a minority high school student planning to major in education

  • Application deadline: March 1

  • Application must be made by an FTA Chapter, if available, or by the student with the recommendation of an active TEA member.
     

Education Support Professional (ESP) 

  • One $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a currently employed Education Support Professional (ESP) who is an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in a Tennessee college or university and who is preparing to become a teacher.

  • Application deadline: March 1

  • Application must be made by a current Local Association.
     

Al Mance Memorial

  • One $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a to a male ethnic minority undergraduate or graduate student who is enrolled in a Tennessee college or university and who is preparing to become a teacher.

  • Application deadline: March 1

  • Application must be made by a current Local Association.
     

Graduate

  • One $1,000 scholarship to a graduate student

  • Application deadline: March 1 

  • Application must be made by a Local Association.
     

These scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, demonstrated leadership abilities, economic need, and a demonstrated interest in becoming a teacher.

 

 

TEA LOCAL ASSOCIATION HUMAN RELATIONS AWARD

 

The TEA Local Association Human Relations Award is presented to the local association that develops and carries out an outstanding, continuing human relations program.

 

Eligibility

 

The award is open to all local associations that have a social justice committee registered with the Tennessee Education Association.

 

Procedures For Nomination


Every association that submits a nomination for the TEA Local Association Human Relations Award shall present the following information:

  1. Association activities undertaken to achieve the established goals.
  2. The materials may be in writing, printed, or typewritten. All written and printed material must be submitted in a portfolio with durable binding. In the event that audiovisual materials; such as, well documented tapes, films, recordings, and other types of material have been part of your human relations program, these materials are welcome and should be submitted with the descriptive materials.
  3. Newspaper clippings, testimonial letters from individuals or businesses (limit 10) and similar materials should be used to support your nomination.
  4. All entries must be sent to:  

         TEA Racial and Social Justice Committee
         Tennessee Education Association
         801 Second Avenue North
         Nashville, TN 37201-1099

    All nominations and supporting materials must be postmarked or marked for shipment on or before February 2. 

     

  5. Winners will be notified and the presentation of the award will be made to the association at the TEA Representative Assembly.

    Criteria for judging a local association for the TEA Human Relations Award:

                                Content of Activities                50%
                                Effectiveness of Activities        30%
                                Display of Materials                20%

 

Definition of Terms:

  1. Content of Activities and Programs:
    The entry should show materials that point up to the involvement of an individual or an association in human relations programs and activities on a continuing basis.

  2. Effectiveness of Activities and Programs:
    This covers the outcome, results, or impact of the individuals' or association's activities.

  3. Display of Materials:
           a)   Artistic effect
           b)   Neatness
           c)   All entries must be submitted in scrapbook form.
     

Human Relations Award Criteria for an Educator or Layperson