Two urban high school students were awarded a scholarship of $1,000 each to use for his or her pursuit of higher education at the Michigan Association of School Boards Urban Conference today. The scholarships were presented in partnership with ARAMARK Education and the Michigan Black Caucus on Education.

The scholarships represent a commitment to aiding urban districts’ continued efforts in education and service, and the belief that educating students in urban centers can help eliminate social, political and economic disadvantages that plague our communities and nation. 

The 2010 scholarship winners are BreAna D. Allen from Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy, Saginaw City School District and Ethan Johnson from Bridgeport High School, Bridgeport-Spaulding Community Schools. Each student submitted an essay reflecting the theme how can technology be utilized in the classroom to enhance public education?

In her essay, BreAna argued “the integration of technology inside the classroom has become the ultimate answer to society’s question, ‘how do we make learning more relevant and interesting?’” Ethan made the point that, “we use technology for war, entertainment, transportation and many other things that benefit us greatly, but it fails to benefit the most important thing of all: education.”

The students each presented their winning essay to a group of approximately 75 board members and administrators from urban school districts across the state of Michigan.