Five Hall County middle school teachers have been awarded $5,005 in Bright Ideas grants from Jackson EMC for five innovative classroom projects.
Included are four teachers at Chestatee Academy: Terri Gruenenfeld won $1,000 for her earth science exploration box project; Dawn Hudgins received $1,616 to expose her students to genealogical research methods; Katie Rountree won $500 to help close the reading gap through her “Calling All Readers” project; and Carrie Jane Sparks’ $634 grant will allow students to create and research atoms and molecules.
In addition, at East Hall Middle School, Lona Hall received $1,255 for a classroom project designed to create a Martian settlement using the concepts of wind and solar energy.
In 2018, Jackson EMC awarded a total of $51,461 in Bright Ideas grants to 43 teachers in 20 schools across its service area.
Annually, the Bright Ideas grant program awards up to $2,000 to middle school teachers in the Jackson EMC service area for classroom projects that would go unfunded otherwise. An independent panel of judges evaluates the applications based on measurable goals and objectives, innovation, student involvement and implementation plans.
For more information on the Jackson EMC Bright Ideas grant program, visit www.jacksonemc.com/brightideas.
