Covington Electric Cooperative (CEC) held a reception on Jan. 24 to present $12,725 in grant awards to 12 deserving teachers and educators in its service area who want to implement exciting new programs and creative projects in their classrooms, but lacked the necessary funding until now.

CEC launched the Bright Ideas program last August, offering up to $15,000 in grants this school year to support effective initiatives that are not covered by traditional funding. The program was available to K-12 teachers in public and home schools served electrically by CEC. The purpose of Bright Ideas is to provide a way for educators to implement creative hands-on projects in their classrooms. The program gives teachers a chance to explore endless possibilities for learning.

Individual teachers could apply for grants from $250 up to $750, while teams of teachers were eligible to apply for a maximum of $1,500.

“This is the first year that CEC has offered the Bright Ideas program and the judging committee was very pleased with the applicants and their proposed projects,” said Ed Short, CEC general manager. “This year’s grant awards will benefit approximately 1,221 children and grandchildren of CEC members. We hope that more teachers will apply next year and take full advantage of this opportunity.”

The 2016-2017 Covington Electric Cooperative Bright Ideas Grant Recipients are:

• Joy Sowards with Covington County Schools ($475 for Recorder Karate, a program that strengthens students’ musical abilities);
• Jessica McCarty with Fleeta School ($750 for an Art Enrichment program that includes modeling clay, canvas painting, charcoal sketches and more);
• Valerie Brownlee with Fleeta School ($500 for Future City Competition where students research, design and build cities of the future that showcase their solution to a citywide sustainability issue);
• Tina Shiver’s team with Straughn High School ($1,500 for the Art Council to incorporate the fine arts into core curriculum);
• Linda Varner’s team with Straughn High School ($1,500 for an integrated art, music and drama program);
• Tamberli Dixon with Straughn High School ($750 for a Spanish Language Lab enabling students to learn Spanish in a more authentic manner);
• Debra Turman’s team with Straughn High School ($1,500 for the Makerspace program that provides an innovative approach to building students’ proficiencies in science, technology, engineering, and math);
• Karen McGlaun’s team with Straughn High School ($1,500 to provide industry level computer application skills and help students receive MOS Certification and College and Career Ready status);
• Rita Sullivan’s team with Samson Elementary School ($1,500 for Making Connections, a program to provide trade books and children’s literature where lessons can be presented to students in real-life situations instead of unfamiliar text);
• Jennifer Sander’s team with Kinston School ($1,500 for Bright Futures, a program that helps provide books and reward-based activities under the Accelerated Reader program);
• Lougener Wyrsodick with Kinston School ($500 for Kinston Character and Counseling, a program to provide books and supplies that support the Character@Heart character education program); and
• Victoria Adams with Red Level High School ($750 for Social Sciences Expo, a group project that allows younger students to research an era and take part in specific activities to learn more about the period, and older students to develop a marketing/business plan for an item they create and sell on the market at school that enables them to learn about economics through real-life experiences).