The Rosenberry Scholarship provides tuition assistance for the children of St. Joseph Montessori School who have been impacted by a life-threatening illness or life-altering condition or who have had a parent or guardian with a life-threatening illness or life-altering condition such as cancer.
The Rosenberry Scholarship Fund was established in honor of Brenda and Jill Rosenberry. Jill was a student at SJMS and she and her mother were battling cancer simultaneously. After a valiant four-year battle against triple-negative breast cancer, Brenda lost her battle in June 2011. Jill survived T-cell lymphoma twice, at ages 4 ½ and 6 years old. In November 2022, Jill lost her 18-month battle against malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor cancer at the age of 19.
In 2011, the Rosenberry Scholarship Fund was created by Jill's teachers, Michelle Getz and Kathy Koehler, with help from Ernestine Jackson, Lisa Jolley, and other faculty and staff at the school to honor Brenda and Jill in their battles with cancer and to acknowledge the impact that it had on other members of their family, including Jill's brother and father. Before Brenda left for her final round of treatment, she asked Jill's teachers to "take care of her girl". The scholarship fund became a way to care for other families in similar situations. The families who have received support from the fund said they wanted to keep their child at SJMS for the support and care of the teachers that were given to their child or children during a difficult time for their family.
Since fund establishment, the Rosenberry Scholarship has benefitted three families with a fourth tuition assistance distribution supporting a family during the 23-24 school year. By making a donation to the Rosenberry Scholarship, you will honor the memory of Jill and Brenda, celebrate the families the fund has supported, and help future St. Joseph Montessori School families in need.