Palmetto, GA—December 6, 2016—Out of 77 applicants representing 36 schools, 28 teachers in Coweta and Fayette Counties were surprised with gifts and Bright Ideas checks ranging from nearly $200 to $1,500 by Operation Round Up representatives who stopped by local classrooms Oct. 27-28 to announce grant winners.
Coweta-Fayette EMC’s annual Operation Round Up initiative gives educators the opportunity to apply for special project funds not often available in tightly budgeted school systems. Through Bright Ideas 2016, the Coweta-Fayette Trust, Inc., Board of Directors awarded almost $30,000 to 12 Coweta/16 Fayette recipients.
Earlier in the year, the board asked K-12 teachers to submit proposals for innovative classroom projects. Without knowing the names of schools or the educators involved, seven retired teachers from Coweta, Fayette and Heard Counties rated requests according to creativity and the potential for student involvement.
This year’s Fayette winners are: Susan M. Boyd, Bennett’s Mill Middle—$1,240 for “I have something to talk about!”; Kimberly Walden, Bennett’s Mill Middle—$550 for “STEM: Scientific Thinking Engages Me”; Deborah Dunham, Braelinn Elementary—$1,500 for “Picture Me as an Active Learner”; Laura Brown, Braelinn Elementary—$402 for “Ozobots”; Beverly Harris, Braelinn Elementary—$1,000 for “Innovative Seating for a First Grade Classroom”; Kristin King, Flat Rock Middle—$1,462 for “Improving Reading and Writing in a 21st-Century Classroom”; Kathryn Floyd, Huddleston Elementary—$1,395 for “Rolling with Robots”; Tracy Arnold, J.C. Booth Middle—$1,500 for “No worries! We got this!”; Tyler C. Martin, Kedron Elementary—$500 for “Incubator Habitat and Composting”; Stephanie Lemons, Kedron Elementary—$825 for “STEM and Blinky LED Projects”; Judy Linzie, Konos Academy—$1,500 for “Diversión en español, Spanish Fun”; Grace Cannon, McIntosh High—$720 for “Seeing the Invisible X 100”; Chrissy Greenberg, Oak Grove Elementary—$649 for “Flexible Learning for Exceptional Students”; Monica M. Thomas, Peeples Elementary—$200 for “Build Reading Skills Using Headsprout”; Victoria Saxon, Peeples Elementary—$900 for “Flexible Seating for Flexible Learners”; and Kelly Gallman, Sandy Creek High—$1,500 for “IPADS for Music Classes.”
The Bright Ideas program is sponsored by Coweta-Fayette EMC’s Operation Round Up Trust and supported with funds raised by co-op members who allow their bills to be “rounded up” to the nearest dollar each month. This is the 12th year the grant has been available, and it will be offered to educators once again for the 2016-2017 school year. Interested teachers are encouraged to begin working now on plans for their applications (available online at Utility.org in May).
Operation Round Up is a Coweta-Fayette EMC program that contributes more than $250,000 each year to worthy groups in the cooperative service area. These awards are made possible by voluntary contributions from EMC members and managed through a separate board of directors, the Coweta-Fayette Trust, Inc., Board of Directors.
Coweta-Fayette EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to more than 76,000 member accounts in Coweta, Fayette, Heard, South Fulton, Clayton, Spalding, Troup and Meriwether Counties
*Grant amounts have been rounded to the nearest dollar for this article.
