ALBANY, N.Y. — Peter Lawrence, director of transportation for Fairport (N.Y.) Central School District, and his wife, Linda, have created a scholarship that will help four school bus driver trainers attend industry training events this year.

The Lawrences have endowed one scholarship that will cover the registration fee for the New York Association for Pupil Transportation (NYAPT)/CYR Foundation Conference, to be held July 11-13 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and three scholarships that will cover the registration fee for the National Association for Pupil Transportation’s (NAPT) 2010 Annual Summit, which will convene in Portland, Ore., Oct. 30 through Nov. 4.

“We have created this endowment to help give back to an industry that does noble work for students across our great nation,” Peter Lawrence said. “We hope driver trainers take advantage of the opportunity and we are looking forward to reviewing the applications.”

The Peter and Linda Lawrence Training Scholarship will be awarded to school bus driver trainers or front-line supervisors who work for a school district or private school bus company, train transportation staff full or part time and have held a position in the industry for at least three years.

Applicants must submit a cover letter that contains a brief statement of financial need and two letters of recommendation. The letters of recommendation must be from the applicant’s immediate supervisor and/or school district or company administrator.

The letters should detail how the candidate’s professional capabilities and personal integrity justify receiving the scholarship. A description of why he or she would like to receive the scholarship, what he or she hopes to achieve by attending and how the training will enhance the applicant’s effectiveness as a trainer is also required.

A downloadable application is available here.

The deadline to submit an application for the NYAPT Conference is July 1. An announcement naming the winner will be made on July 2.

The deadline to submit an application for the NAPT Summit is Sept. 17. An announcement naming the winners will be made on Sept. 24.