Eleven Fayette school teachers were surprised with gift bags, balloons and Bright Ideas checks ranging from $821 to $1,500 when a group of Operation Round Up representatives showed up Sept. 29-30 to announce the 2011 winners in classrooms across the county.
Every year, Coweta-Fayette EMC’s Operation Round Up initiative gives educators the opportunity to apply for grants dedicated to special teaching projects not often available in tightly budgeted school systems. Through this program, the Coweta-Fayette Trust, Inc., Board of Directors awarded over $29,000 in Bright Ideas grants to 22 deserving teachers throughout the EMC service area.
Earlier in 2011, the Trust asked teachers in grades K-12 to submit proposals for innovative classroom projects, and 79 grant applications were received. Without knowing the names of the schools or educators involved, a group of retired teachers from Coweta, Fayette and Heard counties rated the requests according to level of creativity in the learning experience and student involvement.
Winners in Fayette County were:
- Dan S. Gant, Starr's Mill High, $900 for “Investigating Hypoxia”;
- Kelly Rock, Starr's Mill High, $1,255 for “What's in my Food?”;
- Anne Hertzog, Crabapple Lane Elementary, $1,500 for “Doable Renewables”;
- Kimberly Walden, Braelinn Elementary, $1,387 for “iPad, therefore iCan”;
- Guy Serapion, Huddleston Elementary, $1,500 for “Science is a Blast”;
- Lori Decker, McIntosh High, $1,307 for “Finch Robots”;
- Kristina Lightfoot, Rising Starr Middle, $821 for “Elmo: Document Camera”;
- Larry Singleton, McIntosh High, $1,200 for “Kids’ Playhouse”;
- Mary Lou Goehring, Braelinn Elementary, $1,039 for “Real World Math”;
- Dr. Margrite Wimbish, Fayette County Alternative, $1,500 for “Character Counts in Alternative Education”;
- and Becki Mayo, Hood Avenue Primary, $1,500 for “Teaching Young Singers Musical Skills Using Digital Piano.”
The Bright Ideas program is sponsored by the Coweta-Fayette EMC Operation Round Up Trust from funds raised by EMC members who allow their bills to be “rounded up” to the nearest dollar each month. This is the seventh year the Bright Ideas grant has been available, and it will be offered to educators once again for the 2011-2012 school year. Interested teachers are encouraged to begin working now on plans for their applications.
Coweta-Fayette EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to over 74,000 member accounts in Coweta, Fayette, Heard, South Fulton, Clayton, Spalding, Troup and Meriwether counties.
