Pamela Kay Raynor Memorial Scholarship

This Scholarship is funded by donations made in the memory of Pamela Kay Raynor, a long-time Special Education Teacher in the Franklin Pierce School District.

Scholarship awards are made to graduating seniors of Franklin Pierce High School, Washington High School, and Gates High School.

• All graduating seniors are to be considered for this scholarship.
• The student will attend a college, university, or vocational school.
• The student must have shown perseverance in overcoming obstacles to their education. Obstacles may include, but not limited to, special needs that required an IEP or 504 plan, long-term or chronic illness or injury, and personal or family hardships.

Each school’s scholarship committee will select the recipient. An alternate shall be selected annually from the same school and the scholarship shall be awarded to that individual if the primary award winner does not meet the requirements of the scholarship.

Mrs. Pamela Kay Raynor was born on January 23, 1962.  She dreamed of becoming a teacher and ultimately found her calling as a special education teacher.  Pam graduated summa cum laude from Pacific Lutheran University in 1986.

Pam was hired by the Franklin Pierce School District shortly after graduation.  She took her first job at Central Avenue Elementary School as Miss Pamela Watts.  One year later, she began teaching at Brookdale Elementary School.  A few years later, students called her by a different name because she met and married her husband, Henry.  When Midland reopened in 2003, Mrs. Raynor transitioned to the newly built school.

Pam devoted her entire career to the Franklin Pierce School District.  She taught countless children over the 26 years she was in our schools. She believed that every child had a right to learn, a right to feel safe and supported, and the capability to learn and reach his or her full potential.

She encouraged, taught, protected, and loved every one of her students, as well as the students she did not even teach.  She was often the most positive person in a child’s life.  Pam wanted to give students their best shots in life, so she worked tirelessly to give them specialized instruction and to make them feel cared about when they were in school.  Pam met kids where they were and she helped them learn skills that would enable them to succeed in school and beyond.  Pam Raynor was an exceptional special education teacher and she made a positive difference in so many students’ lives.

Pam lost her battle with cancer on December 1, 2012, but her legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of her students because they are more perseverant, more skilled, and more hopeful because of her teacher’s love and because of her expertise and determination to see them succeed.

• Receipt of a completed Scholarship Acceptance Form will hold this scholarship for the student. The scholarship can be held no longer than 16 months after June 30th of the year of graduation from high school.
• Upon receipt of Proof of Enrollment Form including a student ID number, funds will be released to the institution in the name of the student.