Northeast TN schools land TVA funding to boost STEM programs

The Tennessee Valley Authority is funding hands-on learning programs at several Northeast Tennessee schools as part of a regional push to strengthen K-12 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programming.According to a TVA news release, teachers at Jonesborough Elementary, North Side Elementary and St. Anne Catholic School received $15,000 in grant funding for immersive STEM lessons involving music, robotics and augmented reality, while University School secured $1,500 for a future city design program.The grants were awarded through TVA's STEM classroom award program, which has distributed about $1.5 million to 339 Tennessee Valley schools this past year in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Inc.Jonesborough Elementary School teacher Adam Hybarger received $5,000 to purchase African drums for music lessons involving percussion. North Side Elementary teacher Luanna Rolston also secured $5,000 to expand the school's robotics curriculum with the help of new VEX robots.In addition, the announcement said, St. Anne Catholic School teacher Nicole Hughes will use $5,000 to purchase AR/VR technology for Earth science lessons, while University School teacher Nicole Havert will put $1,500 toward teaching students how to design cities with digital technologies.TVA President and CEO Don Moul emphasized the grant program's importance for regional economic and workforce development."Inspiring young people to pursue careers in STEM fields is so important," Moul said. "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."Bicentennial Volunteers President Kathy Black said the program reflects a shared commitment to education that will build students' 21st-century job skills."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," Black said.The TVA announcement noted that several other Northeast Tennessee schools also received grants for similar STEM projects, including Elizabethton High School, Sullivan East High School and Church Hill Middle School.The grant program received 528 applications this year, with 339 selected for funding. Preference was given to applications that explored TVA's areas of focus: environment, energy, economic development and community problem-solving.TVA officials said the program has provided over $9 million in STEM grants for over 845,000 students since its 2018 launch.For a full list of grant recipients, visit www.tva.gov.