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5 Hall middle schools receive Bright Ideas grants from Jackson EMC
Hall BOE Jackson EMC Bright Ideas
Jackson EMC commercial and industrial representative David Lee presents the Hall County Board of Education with a check recognizing Bright Ideas grant winners. Pictured from left, are: Eddie Millwood, C.W. Davis Middle School principal; Meredith Westbrook, South Hall Middle School teacher; Kent Townley, South Hall Middle School assistant principal; Megan Kotula, South Hall Middle School teacher; Heather Chandler, Chestatee Academy teacher; Libbie Armstrong, Chestatee Academy assistant principal; Jeanne Rountree, Chestatee Academy teacher; Tamara Etterling, North Hall Middle School principal; and Lee, Jackson EMC.

Jackson EMC awarded four Hall County middle schools $5,765 in Bright Ideas grant funds for five innovative classroom projects.

• Meredith Westbrook from C.W. Davis Middle School won $1,974 for her “Building Spanish Skills” project using recording devices.

• Megan Kotula from South Hall Middle School won $1,038 for a classroom project designed to explore the effects of pollution on plant life.

• Lori McBride won $479 for laboratory kits in forensic science at North Hall Middle School.

• Two teachers from Chestatee Academy won Bright Ideas grants: Heather Chandler for “It’s WONDERful,” a project using the book “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio; and Jeanne Rountree for a Think Tank project-based learning opportunity.

In 2016, Jackson EMC awarded more than $65,700 in Bright Ideas grants to 53 teachers in 29 schools across its service area, marking an increase of more than $15,000 from 2015.

The Bright Ideas Grant Program awards up to $2,000 to middle school teachers in the Jackson EMC service area for innovative 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.