- About 114,000 students will benefit from the grants for science, technology, engineering and math projects
- Since 2018, the program has provided over $9 million in STEM awards supporting over 845,000 students.
- Complete list of grant recipients is available at tva.com/stem.
― The Tennessee Valley Authority, in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Inc., a TVA retiree organization, is awarding, for the third year in a row, $1.5 million in awards to educators to develop science, technology, engineering, and math education projects across the Tennessee Valley region.
Grants will go to two Henry County schools:
Inman Middle School, $5,000, to Patrick Corbin’s project, “From Blueprint to Reality: Building Tomorrow’s Machines Today”” is a project based around a versatile, modular construction set designed to engage students in hands-on STEM learning. In our STEAM lab, this project serves as an excellent way for students to design, build, and test functional vehicles and structures while exploring engineering, physics, and problem-solving concepts.
Rhea Elementary, to Erin Sinclair’s project, $5,000; “Printing the Future-3D printing with Elementary STEAM.” “Printing the Future-3D printing with elementary STEAM”, they would be able to purchase an elementary safe, quality 3D printer, supplies, and utility cart that would allow our kids the opportunity to design a variety of printable objects to help in our classroom learning.
“Inspiring young people to pursue careers in STEM fields is so important,” said TVA President and CEO Don Moul. “A workforce with specialized skills means more economic opportunities for people across our seven-state region and more opportunities for our students to achieve high-paying jobs that will support their families and make their communities a better place to live when they grow up.”
The competitive STEM classroom award program is operated in partnership with the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, managed by the Battelle organization. The program received 528 applications, and 339 were selected for funding. Since 2018, TVA/BVI has provided over $9 million in STEM grants supporting over 845,000 students.
“BVI is proud to stand alongside TVA in sparking curiosity and building pathways for young people across the Tennessee Valley,” said Kathy Black, president, Bicentennial Volunteers, Inc. “The STEM Awards program reflects our shared belief that investing in education today fuels the talent and innovation that will sustain our communities for generations to come. The awards meet the diverse needs of local communities.”
For example, Northeast Elementary School in Clarksville, Tennessee is using its award to purchase much-needed supplies.
“We are going to be creating kits for kindergarten through fifth grade where teachers can just check out the materials they need to complete STEM projects,” said Amber Di Silvio, academic coach at Northeast Elementary School. “STEM opens up opportunities for different careers for these students to be exposed to later in life.”
Awards up to $5,000 were awarded in a competitive process, and preference was given to grant applications that explored TVA’s primary areas of focus: environment, energy, economic development, and community problem-solving. Any school that receives their power from a local power company served by TVA was eligible to apply.
A full list of the grant recipients can be found at tva.com/stem.
TVA photo.