Past Presidents' Scholarship

The Past Presidents’ Scholarship was initially established in 2009 through an inaugural gift from then outgoing President District Superintendent Clark Godshall and has been generously supported through contributions from those who have served as President of the New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS/The Council) and Partner zSpace.

2024 Past Presidents' Scholarship Award Presentation

Sarah Cioffi
K-12 Academic Administrator, World Languages and English as a New Language
Shenendehowa Central School District


Sarah Cioffi is the first recipient of this inaugural Past President’s Scholarship.

She was selected by the Distinguished Service Committee because of her dedication and commitment to excellence in education and her leadership experience. Sarah is currently pursuing her Doctor of Educational Leadership through the Russel Sage Doctoral program. 

This scholarship was presented at Tuesday’s Closing keynote at our 2024 Winter Institute and sponsored by Partner Edjuncture. Also pictured L to R: Executive Director Chuck Dedrick; President Jason Andrews, Windsor; Laura Feijoo, VP of Leadership and Development, Edjuncture; Sarah Cioffi; Superintendent Oliver Robinson, Shenendehowa; and Past Presidents' Chair Maureen Donahue, Southwestern. 

2025 Scholarship Process


NYSCOSS Past Presidents are pleased to offer once again one scholarship in the amount of $2,000 to be awarded at the 2025 Winter Institute & Lobby Day. The purpose of the scholarship is to provide financial assistance to those individuals interested in pursuing a higher educational degree or certification leading to credentials for acquiring or furthering their position as a public-school administrator serving in a district-wide position.
 
Nominations of aspiring leaders can be made by superintendents and college and university faculty. 

Please consider nominating a colleague from your district by completing this online nomination form here.

Online nominations are due by Friday, January 3, 2025. Once nominated, Council staff will send the student nominee access to the online application. 
 
Scholarship Eligibility Requirements 

The scholarship of $2,000 is awarded annually and presented to those individuals enrolled in a graduate study program through which a Doctoral Degree and/or Certification as a School District Administrator. It is presented at our Winter Institute.

All applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Actively pursuing graduate level studies leading to a senior administrative credential. 
- Demonstrating leadership qualities, i.e., community and/or association involvement and other professional participation.
- While membership in The Council is not a prerequisite, it is a criterion for consideration. 
- Serving the children of New York State. 

Application Details
  1. Complete and submit an online application on his/her objectives/aspirations in the field of public-school central office administration by answering four short questions.
  2. Present and upload a letter of interest and a current resume.
  3. Demonstrate financial need in the letter of interest. 

Applications are due by Friday, January 17, 2025 to be considered for the 2025 scholarship. 

Note: Submission files can be no larger than 500 KB or the online system will reject the entire application if the file is too large. You can easily upload files through the drag and drop option. File types can include pdf, doc, docx, xls, csv, txt, rtf, html, zip, mp3, wma, mpg, flv, avi, jpg, jpeg, png, or gif.

For more information contact:

Theresa Wutzer Moore, CMP
Associate Director / Director of
Marketing & Communications

E:  theresa@nyscoss.org 
T:  518.694.4884




2025 Winter Institute & Lobby Day

Expanding the Horizon - The Promise of Public Education

Albany Capital Center
Albany, NY 

March 2-4, 2025

Education Session Call for Proposals is now open.
Attendee and housing registration opens Monday, December 2, 2024.