“The Orcas Island Education Foundation is pleased to announce that this will be the first year a teacher or counselor of Orcas High students will receive a scholarship ‘for their outstanding contributions to student academic excellence and well-being’,” says OIEF president, Michelle Reed, “thanks to the generosity of Mary Anne and Chuck Owen.”

The $1,000 perpetual scholarship honors Gladys M. Baggaley, mother of Mary Anne Owen of Eastsound. Mrs. Baggaley was an English teacher and guidance counselor for 30 years at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland. The award was initiated after her death in 1994 and has been awarded to the teachers and counselors at Lake Washington for the past 13 years. Mary Anne and Chuck decided this year to move the award to Orcas Island believing that “the monies will be a welcome addition here in what is a difficult funding climate for our public schools.” The trust, under which the awards are made, is managed by the Seattle Foundation.

“When Mary Anne came to us with this generous offer, we were touched not only by the uniqueness of the scholarship, but by Mrs. Owen’s sincere desire to have our teachers and counselors benefit from her mother’s dedication to education,” says high school principal, Barbara Kline.

Nominations for the award will be made by the high school students themselves, faculty and staff, PTSA members and the parents of high school students. The selection of award recipient(s) will be made by the Owens, with the assistance of the OIEF Board, based on the following criteria:

The nominee consistently evidences high competency in and dedication to his/her academic discipline or work as a counselor;

The nominee is an unusually gifted teacher or counselor;

The nominee addresses the “whole person” of the student, encouraging both academic excellence and personal growth;

The nominee is actively involved with parents and in the larger Orcas Island community as an extension of his/her commitment as an educator.

In past years, the award has been used for a variety of worthy projects, including the purchase of novels for an English class and math books for an individualized learning program; a field trip for the French class to the 5th Avenue Theatre production of “Les Miserables”; a dramatic presentation on alcohol and drug use, eating disorders and violence by Taproot Theatre to support the school’s prevention education curriculum; and a program for a sophomore World History class on the Holocaust where survivors recounted their experiences.

Nomination forms will be available on May 16 at the high school, and the recipient(s) will be announced on June 13.