Armed with balloons, goodie bags and large display checks, the Bright Ideas Prize Patrol surprised eight Fayette County school teachers who were grant winners this year. As the group of Trust Board members, judges and EMC employees paraded into the schools, other teachers were speculating on whether someone had won the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.

A total of $22,825.57 was awarded to twenty classrooms within the EMC territory, eight of those were in Fayette County receiving a total of $7,916.57. The money was awarded to teachers for special classroom projects that will enhance their classroom curriculum, therefore directly benefiting the students.

Eighty-two teachers submitted applications explaining needed funding and cost for their special projects.The maximum amount awarded to any one teacher was $1,500 so that more teachers would be able to benefit from the program. A group of retired teachers from Coweta and Fayette counties rated the requests according to need, the level of creativity in the learning experience and student involvement.

Other winners from Fayette County were: Carol Feeney, Robert Burch Elementary, $708 for “The Wonderful Watershed Project”; Mary Lou Goehring, North Fayette Elementary, $597.72 for “Robotics in the Classroom”; Gwen Thibadeau, Starr’s Mill High, $1,000 for “Through My Eyes-Literary Quilting”; Barbara Phillips, Starr’s Mill High, $1,281.85 for “Nursing and Medical Skills”; Anne Hertzog, Crabapple Lane Elementary, $1,250 for “Mars Rover”; Shelly McLemore, Flat Rock Middle, $529 for “Learning with Legos” and Laurie Townsend, Brooks Elementary, $1,090 for “Math Game to Authentically Engage Every Student.”

The Bright Ideas program is sponsored by Coweta-Fayette EMC’s Operation Round-Up Trust from funds raised by EMC members that allow their bills to be rounded up to the nearest dollar each month.The program will be offered again during the 2006-2007 school year, so teachers need to begin now working on plans for their applications.

Coweta-Fayette EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to 65,000 consumers in Coweta, Fayette, Heard, South Fulton, Meriwether, Clayton, Spalding and Troop counties.

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