Covington Electric Cooperative (CEC) is reminding local educators about their Bright Ideas grant program that gives teachers a chance to explore endless possibilities for learning.

CEC offers grants each year to support innovative and effective initiatives that are not covered by traditional funding. This program is available for K-12 teachers in public and home schools served electrically by the cooperative.

Individual teachers can apply for grants from $250 up to $750, while teams of teachers are eligible to apply for a maximum of $1,500. “The Bright Ideas program has enabled dozens of teachers at schools throughout our service area to bring exciting new projects to their classrooms in recent years,” says Patty Seay, CEC public relations manager. “Detailed information about the program, as well as grant applications, are available on the CEC website at covington.coop under community involvement. The deadline to apply is Nov. 9,” Seay said.

CEC hosts a Bright Ideas reception in January for all grant recipients. “We disperse grant funds at the reception and teachers have the remainder of the school year to implement their projects,” says Seay. “Teachers are required to provide documentation to CEC on how their grant funds were utilized in the classroom. This can be done by the teacher or through a visit from a CEC representative,” she added.

CEC is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative that serves approximately 23,000 meters in parts of six counties which include: Covington, Coffee, Geneva, Dale, Crenshaw and Escambia.