A Teacher Pays It Forward

Special ed teacher Genevieve Via Cava promised to donate $1 million to her students a decade ago. “I thought it was a joke,” said Dumont, N.J., public schools superintendent Emanuele Triggiano. “But then we got the paperwork.” When she died in 2011 at age 89, after 45 years of teaching, she lived up to her word…yet a check wasn’t sent until this April due to red tape. Starting with the class of 2020, one pupil will be eligible for a $25,000 scholarship each year. Her pal Richard Jablonski said she scrimped and saved, even denying herself hearing aids. “The Great Depression really left a mark on her,” he said. “She’s leaving a lasting legacy.”