The Tennessee Valley Authority, in partnership with EPB and Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated (a TVA retiree organization), have awarded $36,000 in STEM grants to 11 schools in the Chattanooga area.
This year, TVA awarded $1 million in grants to 223 schools across TVA’s seven state service territory impacting more than 106,000 students to fund STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education.
“TVA is committed to supporting STEM education to help develop today’s students into tomorrow’s engineers, scientists and IT professionals,” said Jeannette Mills, TVA executive vice president and chief external relations officer. “It’s inspiring to be able to contribute to the innovators of the next generation.”
The competitive STEM grant program, operated in partnership with the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network and Battelle, received more than 336 grant applications this year. Teachers could apply for 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 as well as pandemic related projects.
Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences won a $5,000 grant students will use for several design projects. East Hamilton Middle won a $5,000 grant to create a podcast lab. Soddy Daisy Middle won a $5,000 grant to teach students to code and fly drones. And Westview Elementary won $5,000 to purchase 3D printers which will help solve a challenge for the school.
The other awards this year include: Lakeview Middle won a $5,000 grant to buy a laser cutter and a 3D resin printer; Ridgeland High won a $3,500 grant for its Robotics team which has qualified for the world championship in Dallas this month; STEM School Chattanooga won a $3,500 grant for its chemistry lab; Lookout Valley Elementary won a $2,500 grant to buy 3D printers; Tyner Academy won a $2,500 grant to start a “Girls who Code” chapter and Hamilton County Schools won a $2,500 grant to help teach students science through a cooking class with a mobile kitchen.
Hamilton County Schools also won a $1,500 grant to create Fast Forward Career Kits to help teach 3rd-5th graders about skills taught at Hamilton County’s Future Ready Institutes so students will be ready to choose a middle/high school that focuses on an area of interest.
Since 2018, TVA and BVI have awarded nearly $2 million in STEM grants to support local education.