
Each
year,
SPARK,
the
education
foundation
for
Prince
William
County
Public
Schools
(PWCS),
works
closely
with
business
leaders
to
identify
business
and
community
partnerships,
making
the
most
positive
impact
on
academics
and
student
achievement.
This
year,
SPARK
was
pleased
to
present
the
2022
Business
Partnerships
of
the
Year
recipients
at
a
Business
Partnerships
of
the
Year
Dinner
held
recently
at
Old
Hickory
Golf
Club
Superintendent
of
Schools
Dr.
LaTanya
D.
McDade,
and
School
Board
Chairman
At-Large,
Babur
B.
Lateef,
M.D.,
shared
their
congratulatory
remarks
and
spoke
on
the
importance
of
school
to
business
partnerships
and
the
value
they
bring
to
the
community.
Dawn
Davis,
executive
director
for
SPARK
announced
the
2022
Business
Partnership
of
the
Year
awardees:
-
The
Aviation
Institute
of
Maintenance
(AIM)
and
Career
Technical
Education
-The
mission
of
this
partnership
is
to
establish
a
Federal
Aviation
Administration
(FAA)
approved
aviation
maintenance
program
in
PWCS.
This
opportunity
provides
students
with
the
exposure
and
prospect
to
enter
the
aviation
field.
Students
in
the
program
gain
exposure
into
the
aviation
field
with
a
continuing
pathway
into
an
aviation
maintenance
career.
-
Park
Valley
Church
and
Mountain
View
Elementary
School
-
For
a
decade,
this
partnership
has
supported
many
families
in
various
ways
through
collaborative
efforts..
The
coordinator,
Sylvia
Boone,
along
with
counselors
and
social
workers
at
Mountain
View
Elementary,
work
with
families
in
need
to
create
wish
lists
for
their
children.
Church
volunteers
from
Park
Valley
Church
shop
for
each
child
to
meet
individual
needs
and
wishes,
and
provide
items
needed
for
a
special
meal.
The
church
committee
also
collects
and
organizes
tables
of
gently
used
clothing
for
children
and
adults
to
take
as
needed.
.
The
rapport
built
through
this
community
support
and
the
school
with
our
families
continues
to
make
a
positive
difference
year
to
year.
-
Top
Ladies
of
Distinction,
Inc.
Dale
City-PW
Chapter
and
Minnieville
Elementary
School
-The
mission
statement
of
Minnieville
Elementary
School
can
be
summarized
by
three
key
words-
commitment,
collaboration,
and
community.
Minnieville
Elementary
has
been
honored
to
work
with
Top
Ladies
of
Distinction,
Inc.
Dale
City-Prince
William,
as
they
have
gone
above
and
beyond
in
their
support
for
Minnieville
student..
Through
their
many
initiatives
such
as
the
Literacy
Initiative,
Eagle
Express
bookmobile,
and
socially-distanced
learning
playground.
As
well
as
providing
hats
and
gloves
during
the
winter
and
delivering
hundreds
of
child
size
masks
during
the
pandemic,
Top
Ladies
of
Distinction
have
been
there
for
our
students.
The
2022
Sharon
Henry
Partner
in
Education
Award,
renamed
in
2019
to
recognize
the
13
years
of
service
of
past
SPARK
executive
director,
Sharon
Henry,
was
awarded
to
Radhika
Bajaj,
founder
and
president
of
Bookworm
Central.
Radhika
Bajaj
has
devoted
the
past
30
years
to
building
a
children's
book
distributorship
that
provides
offerings
to
promote
the
love
of
books
and
reading
in
the
community.
Whether
it
is
fundraising
book
fairs
for
schools,
or
literacy
programs
to
support
at-risk
students,
the
focal
point
of
these
endeavors
is
to
nurture
strong
and
consistent
reading
practices
among
all
children,
so
that
they
may
be
prepared,
inspired,
and
motivated
learners
for
life.
When
Bajaj
completed
her
graduate
degree
in
English
Literature
she
combined
her
knowledge
with
six
years
of
prior
business
experience
to
start
a
company
focused
on
literacy,
quality
literature,
and
raising
funds
for
schools.
Today,
she
continues
to
work
closely
with
schools,
their
leadership,
and
other
community
partners
to
identify
and
address
today's
wide-ranging
literacy
challenges.
Bajaj
also
serves
on
boards
and
committees
that
support
the
work
of
schools
and
the
educational
process.
Bajaj
strives,
both
personally
and
professionally,
to
provide
for
others
the
opportunities
and
experiences
she
was
afforded
as
a
child
-
the
magic
of
books
and
a
deep
love
for
learning.
The
2021
Business
Partnerships
of
the
Year
recipients
were
also
formally
honored,
as
they
were
unable
to
be
celebrated
previously,
due
to
COVID-19.
The
2021
Business
Partnerships
of
the
Year
awards
were
presented
to:
-
Sentara
Northern
VA
Medical
Center
and
Practical
Nursing
at
Osbourn
Park
High
School
-
This
partnership
offers
our
students
the
mandatory
clinical
experiences
with
instructors.
Sentara
Northern
VA
Medical
Center
has
consistently
allowed
our
students
to
earn
their
mandatory
clinical
hours
at
their
facility.
They
have
impacted
over
300
students
by
allowing
them
the
hours
required
for
graduation
and
by
supporting
scholarships
to
several
of
our
students
each
year.
They
have
helped
to
ignite
a
passion
for
nursing
in
these
students
enabling
them
to
continue
their
education
and
go
on
to
become
doctors,
registered
nurses,
cardio-thoracic
perfusionists
and
even
doctorates
of
nursing
practice.
-
UVA
Health
-
UVA
Health
(at
the
time,
Novant)
joined
forces
with
Prince
William,
Manassas
City
and
Manassas
Park
schools
to
vaccinate
employees
of
the
three
area
public
school
divisions.
In
February
2021,
UVA
Health
received
a
weekly
allotment
of
nearly
3,000
doses
of
the
Pfizer
BioNTech-COVID-19
vaccine
from
the
Prince
William
Health
District.
Employees
of
Manassas
City
Public
Schools
and
Manassas
Park
City
Schools
were
invited
to
attend
a
vaccine
clinic
at
Unity
Reed
High
School
to
receive
their
first
dose
of
the
Pfizer
BioNTech-COVID-19
vaccine.
Due
to
the
large
population
size,
Prince
William
County
Public
Schools
led
efforts
to
prioritize
its
employees
based
on
highest
risk.
It
took
about
4-5
weeks
to
inoculate
about
11,000
Prince
William
County
Public
Schools
employees
with
their
first
dose.
This
year's
Business
Partnerships
of
the
Year
Dinner
was
graciously
sponsored
by
RRMM
Architects
and
Micron,
with
both
businesses
having
representatives
in
attendance.
In
addition,
School
Board
Members
Lillie
Jessie,
from
the
Occoquan
District,
Jennifer
Wall,
from
the
Gainesville
District,
and
Lisa
Zargarpur,
from
the
Coles
District,
also
attended.
"SPARK
is
truly
grateful
for
the
continued
support
of
our
business
partners.
This
year's
recipients
exemplify
community
outreach
and
support
for
our
PWCS
students
and
teachers,"
said
SPARK
Executive
Director
Dawn
Davis.