Jackson EMC employees recently delivered big checks to 47 teachers in 25 middle schools to fund their innovative class projects. Overall, the cooperative awarded $64,000 in Bright Ideas grants for projects representing a variety of disciplines.
Now in its sixth year, the Bright Ideas grant program awards up to $2,000 annually to middle school teachers in Jackson EMC’s service area for innovative class projects that would go unfunded otherwise. Educators for sixth through eighth grades can apply for a grant.
The 2020 Bright Ideas grants represent a variety of disciplines, including engineering, music, agriculture, physics, computer programming, math, business, English Language Arts and more.
Funded projects must involve the students directly, provide a creative learning experience with ongoing benefits through innovative teaching methods, create opportunities for teamwork and support the continuous improvement of education in Georgia. For this year’s grants, teachers submitted project ideas that could be done virtually by students.
2020 Bright Ideas Prize Brigade Photos
View and download Bright Ideas photos from our gallery »
2020 Bright Ideas Winners
| School | Awarded | Educator | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arts & Innovation Magnet | $1,880 | Ashley Bailey | Innovation Station: Robotics |
| Banks County Middle School | $2,000 | Lori Taylor | Rubber Band Racers |
| Barrow Arts & Sciences Academy | $1,262 | Ysheena Lyles | The Bigger Picture |
| Bear Creek Middle School | $664 | Katherine Huberty | Raising Garden Beds |
| Bear Creek Middle School | $1,620 | Donna Morris | Differentiated Digital Learning |
| Bear Creek Middle School | $1,935 | Kellie Rutledge | Math Cam! |
| Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School | $1,260 | Barb Saunders | Still Growing at Home |
| Cherokee Bluff Middle School | $294 | Stacy Loverde | Flexible Engagement for Special Needs Learners |
| Chestatee Academy of Inquiry & Talent Development | $1,900 | Dawn Hudgins | Fighting for the Lives and Rights of Others |
| Chestatee Academy of Inquiry & Talent Development | $1,590 | Glen Lawson | Scientists Read Here |
| Chestatee Academy of Inquiry & Talent Development | $2,000 | Jeanne Rountree | Adventure Virtual Reality |
| Coleman Middle School | $1,461 | Sheila Harmony | Greenhouses, Gardens and Green Thumbs |
| Da Vinci Academy at South Hall | $1,533 | Sara Atwill | The Interconnected Underwater World |
| Dacula Middle School | $2,000 | Tracie Banner | Programming the Future |
| East Jackson Middle School | $1,140 | Tyler Gamble | Print to Learn |
| East Jackson Middle School | $528 | Amelia Johnson-Scofield | Techno Savvy Science |
| East Jackson Middle School | $1,135 | Bucky Sorrow | 1-2-3 Baseball |
| East Jackson Middle School | $338 | Jessie Wood | Virtuous Virtual For All |
| East Jackson Middle School | $1,626 | Christopher Strickland | Chorus for Community |
| Gainesville Middle School | $558 | Linda Kennedy-Murray | Garden Access for Everyone |
| Gainesville Middle School | $1,800 | Dory Moore | Digital Music for the 21st Century |
| Gainesville Middle School | $1,990 | Jane Reed | Portable Lab Station |
| Haymon-Morris Middle School | $2,000 | Nancy Murray | Pen Reader |
| Hull Middle School | $1,377 | Aimee Burgamy | Digital Drawing with a PEN |
| Hull Middle School | $447 | Beth Feustel | Koozie Maker |
| Hull Middle School | $645 | Susan O'Neill | Sensory Tools for Special Needs Learners |
| Hull Middle School | $1,856 | Kari Solomon | Green Communities |
| Jefferson Middle School | $947 | Tracy Pratt | English Learner's Lab |
| Jones Middle School | $2,000 | Maile Steimer | Classrooms without Borders: Immersive Learning with Virtual Reality |
| Jordan Middle School | $1,177 | Lori Leigh Alderman | Tactile Learning Beyond Walls |
| Lumpkin County Middle School | $402 | Mariam Brunner | Virtual Marketplace |
| Lumpkin County Middle School | $1,105 | Heather Rairigh | It's SEW FUNdemental! |
| Northbrook Middle School | $1,885 | Arpan Bosmia | Drone Medics to the Rescue! |
| Radloff Middle School | $2,000 | Celia Ayenesazan | Sustainable Communities: A Model for the Future |
| Russell Middle School | $840 | Angela Brown | The Mean and MAD Scientist |
| Russell Middle School | $345 | Megan Scott | Nearpod in Action |
| Twin Rivers Middle School | $1,980 | Andrew Cox | Radioactive Radon |
| Twin Rivers Middle School | $739 | Sarah Farr | Literacy Through Social Studies |
| Twin Rivers Middle School | $1,990 | Anna Herdliska | Microscopy from Miles Away |
| Twin Rivers Middle School | $2,000 | Jason Hurd | Driving By With Auto AI |
| Twin Rivers Middle School | $2,000 | Jessica Morse | Wireless for Zoom Lessons |
| West Jackson Middle School | $502 | Kasey Bryson | Wonderful Wood Works |
| West Jackson Middle School | $1,982 | Dana Harrell | When We Lift Our Voices |
| West Jackson Middle School | $953 | Raechel Hunt | Books for Digital Learning |
| West Jackson Middle School | $1,532 | Caralena Luthi | 3D Physics Car Derby |
| West Jackson Middle School | $1,532 | Jennifer Deckard | Let's Get Digital, Physical! |
| Westside Middle School | $1,265 | Tamra Morris | Bridging the Gap Through Digital Microscopes |