County Schools Get TVA Grants

Bolivar Middle School and Middleton High School were awarded grants of $5,000 each by the Tennessee Valley Authority, in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated for a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education project.
“Our students were thrilled that I was able to add drones and solar-powered cell phone chargers to our Makerspace Program,” said, Deana Sain, Library Media Specialist at Bolivar Middle School. “We’ll be using the grant for career development and energy conservation ideas in our Makerspace.”
The grant award is a part of $600,000 in competitive STEM grants awarded to 142 schools across TVA’s service territory. The competitive grant program provided teachers an opportunity to apply for funding up to $5,000 and preference was given to grant applications that explored TVA’s primary areas of focus: environment, energy, economic and career development and community problem solving. Schools who receive grant funding must receive their power from a TVA distributor.
“This is the second year we offered this program to the entire Valley and we saw a major increase in grant applications this year,” said Community Engagement Senior Program Manager Rachel Crickmar. “There is a demand in the Valley for workforce development through STEM education and I am proud of the way TVA and our retirees are responding to that demand by supporting teachers in the classroom.”