Blue Ridge Electric Awards Educators Grants for Innovative Teaching Projects
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323;
or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Boone, North Carolina (November 12, 2004) – Grants totaling $5,000 were awarded today to four local educators today by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation during a luncheon at Broyhill Inn and Conference Center to honor the cooperative’s Bright Ideas grants recipients.
Bright Ideas is an academic grants program sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation in conjunction with the North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation and its 26 other member electric cooperatives. These grants enhance traditional academic learning by funding innovative scholastic projects that go beyond available school funding.
Local winners of the grants are:
- Lisa Combs, of Watauga High School, for “Madrigal Feaste Mania”, which will benefit 55 choral students in grades 10 through 12 who have been accepted into the Advanced Women’s Chorus and Honor’s Ensemble. The students will do research and conduct a madrigal feaste which will include food, music, dance, costumes and sets from the Renaissance period. The grant totaled $750.
- Patsy Alley and Christy Welch of Mabel Elementary School, for “Parent Partnership: Family Resource Center”, to enhance the school’s parent involvement initiative. The grant totaled $1,000.
- Robin F. Ebaugh, of Parkway Elementary School, for “Parkway Publishes!” which will benefit 193 students who will work together in peer/mentor relationships. Working with teachers and local writing experts, eighth graders and peer mentors for elementary students in kindergarten through third grade will explore the process of writing according to the national Language Arts standards and will co-author, edit and publish books. The grant totaled $2,000.
- Lisa Moody and team members Harry H. Hicklin and Larry Ball, of Cove Creek Elementary School, for “ROBOLAB—For Real” which will benefit 98 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders who will construct robots that follow simple commands. The students will use logical sequencing and problem solving in this exploratory class. The grant totaled $1,250.
Each September, Blue Ridge Electric seeks applications from area educators and principals serving grades K-12 in public schools. Grants are awarded in amounts from $100 to a maximum of $2,000. For the 2004-2005 school year Blue Ridge Electric received 72 Bright Ideas grant applications from schools in its service territory of Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Avery and Wilkes County. Funds totaling $18,634 are being awarded to 15 classroom teachers to directly benefit thousands of area students, teachers, schools and communities. Blue Ridge Electric is celebrating its 11th year of offering Bright Ideas grants as part of its support and commitment to education. Since 1994, the cooperative has awarded nearly $200,000 in Bright Ideas grants through 232 different grants impacting over 55,000 students.
To learn more about the Bright Ideas grants program, visit Blue Ridge Electric’s web site at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com or contact your local Blue Ridge Electric office and ask for Grey Scheer, director of community relations.
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