ALABASTER – Three Thompson High School Seniors and two Alabaster City Schools Teachers were recently awarded $1,000 in scholarships by the Alabaster City Education Association at a ceremony at 4:30 on Tuesday, May 1.

“It’s an honor to be able to present $5,000 in scholarships to students and teachers who are furthering their education,” ACES President Ava Andrews said.

Andrews said the scholarships benefit members of the ACEA and their children each year and are based on submitted essays.

As far as she knows, Andrews said the ACEA is one of the only teachers’ associations that gives scholarships to its adult educators.

“It’s one of our member benefits,” Andrews said. “They pay dues to us, so we want to give back to them.”

THS seniors Jenni Cox, Peri Gregg and Christopher Miranda each received scholarships. Cox will be studying speech language pathology at the University of Montevallo, Gregg will be studying secondary English education at Auburn and Miranda is planning to study to be a nurse at the University of Alabama.

Thompson Middle School teacher Kelly Vaziri earned a scholarship for her instructional leadership certification at the University of West Alabama. Thompson Middle School teacher Frankie Grice will also attend UWA to become a library media specialist.

During the event, Alabama Education Association Member Advocacy and Outreach Assistant Executive Director Amy Marlowe gave updates on state legislation involving educators.

Marlowe said the states $6.6 billion is the best it has been since 2008, and all K-14 employees should expect a 2.5 percent raise in their October paychecks.