The Roslyn Board of Education approved the establishment of memorial scholarships in honor of Drew Hassenbein and Ethan Falkowitz, the two middle schoolers from Roslyn who died in a car crash in May, and accepted gifts for the scholarships at a meeting Thursday morning.

​​Hassenbein and Falkowitz, both 14, were killed May 3 while being driven home from a tennis match celebration. Their car was hit by Roslyn resident Amandeep Singh, who prosecutors allege was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine and driving 95 mph on the wrong side of the road.

Both middle choolers played on Roslyn High School’s varsity tennis team.

The board accepted two gifts in the amount of $2,425, which individually will go towards the Drew Hassenbein Memorial Scholarship and the Ethan Falkowitz Memorial Scholarship. Both scholarships will award $250 to their respective recipients.

The Drew Hassenbein Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to a senior varsity tennis player who has shown exemplary academic excellence and is committed to community service and leadership. The recipient must also have a strong work ethic, integrity and commitment to tennis.

The Ethan Falkowitz Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to a senior athlete with exemplary academic excellence, kindness and a positive attitude. The recipient must also demonstrate a commitment to school service, have a competitive drive and be a leader in their athletic careers.

The district’s Athletic and Physical Education Awards Committee will select the recipients of the scholarships each year.

The district’s athletics department distributed four sports awards in honor of the two teens in June.

Each of the teenagers had two awards offered in their honor, one devoted to tennis and the other to booster basketball – the sports both teens participated in.

Michael Brostowski, director of health, PE & athletics for the Roslyn School District, previously told Blank Slate the scholarship idea came from their tennis coach who did not want the teens to be forgotten by their community.

He said establishing a memorial award for the two teens was the least the school could do for the boys.

“I just hope that we continue to select people for the Ethan and Drew memorial awards that represent their commitment and their tenacity in the future and that we continue to remember them as competitors and great kids,” Brostowski said.

The board also approved the appointments and resignations of various district employees, with a few in attendance at the meeting Thursday morning.

Appointments included one new teacher, six bus drivers and one monitor. Four of the appointed bus drivers were already part-time drivers and were being moved to a probationary full-time position.

Resignations included one teacher, one teaching assistant, one monitor and the four bus drivers appointed to their full-time positions in the district.

Board President Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy congratulated the appointed district employees at the meeting.

The board also approved two donations from schools’ Parent Faculty Associations.

East Hills School’s association donated $10,000, which will be used to renovate the school’s staff lounge. Harbor Hill’s association donated $8,000, which will be used to purchase furniture for the school’s staff lounge.

The Roslyn Board of Education will convene again at 8 a.m. on Aug. 28 in the Board of Education boardroom in the district’s administrative building. The board will be holding a public hearing to discuss the District Wide Safety Plan.