OCPS’ Retired Educators Association Provides Scholarships, Connection
By Sandra Carr
Kim Stutsman has made education her life’s work. A former principal at Lakeville and McCoy elementary schools, she worked at OCPS for more than 30 years and retired from the district in 2012.
Her friend, retired Ocoee Elementary School teacher Madelyn Gaston, provided her with information on the Orange County Retired Educators Association (OCREA) nine years ago. Stutsman thought it was a wonderful way to give back and stay involved in public education during retirement.
“I enjoy supporting OCPS students and teachers with scholarships and love the friends that I have made as an OCREA member,” said Stutsman, who is the association’s membership chair, and has served the organization as its past president, vice president and director.
OCREA’s philanthropic initiatives include the $1,000 Ernest and Ruth Hawk Scholarship for high school seniors who plan on becoming teachers. The student selected at the local level competes for a Florida Retired Educators Foundation’s (FREF) four-year, recurring $2,000 scholarship.
Stutsman, who was also a paraprofessional (Spring Lake ES), teacher (Spring Lake, Ocoee ES) and assistant principal (Mollie Ray ES, Palm Lake ES), advocates for others through OCREA, a nonprofit organization that works closely with the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA), and has been staunchly supporting retired educators in the Sunshine State for the past 65 years.
“We connect with nonprofits in the area through volunteerism and lend our voices for other retired educators through our parent organization FREA, to bring attention to legislative issues that affect retired educators’ pensions and other educational issues,” said Stutsman.
The association has also provided Stutsman with opportunities to give back in other ways. She joined the Retired Educators Foundation of Orange County (REFOC) board, which is affiliated with OCREA. She served as the group’s chair, and was also the Florida Retired Educator Association’s (FREA) state and district director.
REFOC was founded more than 40 years ago, and has provided nearly 300 students with scholarships totaling around $450,000.
The foundation has been funding three, non-renewable scholarships for the past decade, which are the $2,000 Academic Scholarship for OCPS’ graduating seniors, $1,000 Technical Scholarship that is awarded to Orange Technical College students and $2,000 Educators Graduate Scholarship for a teacher or media specialist at an OCPS elementary, middle, high or charter school. The graduate-level scholarship’s application deadline is Friday, Jan. 20.
OCREA’s annual membership fee is $55. The group of retired educators and college professors meet the first Thursday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon at the Church on the Drive, located at 1914 Edgewater Drive in Orlando, from September through May, but not in January.
Student performances occur during the February and December meetings. This past December, Edgewater High School’s Flying High a cappella group and the Timber Creek High chorus sang holiday songs in the church sanctuary.
New members must submit an application. To learn more about joining OCREA, please call 407-843-6909 or email [email protected].
Upcoming Virtual Retirement Services Department Workshops via Zoom:
Jan. 18, 5-6:30 p.m.:
Using the FRS to Plan for Your Retirement
http://bit.ly/3PPMlu8
Jan. 25, 5-6:30 p.m.:
Income Tax Planning: Smart Planning for Your Taxes
http://bit.ly/3BWULKm