Glasgow, Ky. — On Monday, April 25th, 2022 the Glasgow Electric Plant Board, in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated (a volunteer nonprofit organization made up of retirees of the Tennessee Valley Authority), awarded two schools within Glasgow Independent Schools each with a $5,000 grant to be used for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education. The grant award is a part of an $800,000 initiative that has schools participate in a competitive STEM grant application process with over 200 schools across the Tennessee Valley Authority’s seven-state service territory.
The local schools selected as part of this initiative featured Glasgow Middle School, who will be utilizing the funds for the purchase of hands-on equipment to be used in their medical education program.
“We are just so thankful to be able to get this opportunity for our kids. Our kids are going to be able to train on equipment that is commonly used in medical schools across the country, and we view that as just a huge win for our kids,” said Justin Stinson, principal of Glasgow Middle School.
The other local recipient of a STEM grant was South Green Elementary, who is using the funds to launch a training program for students to get hands-on experience with remote drone flight and receive drone aviation certifications.
“Students will get the chance to go through a licensing process which will include computerized flight simulations, written tests, a hands-on skills challenge, requirement to log all hours of flight and familiarize themselves with this certification process as well as the drone itself. We think this is a super important skill set as drones are being used in so many different industries to do a number of things,” said Eric Reamer, 5th Grade Teacher at South Green Elementary.
Such innovative programs in education are exactly the idea behind the STEM grant program offered through TVA. Ernie Peterson, Regional Director of Customer Relations for TVA, speaks of how the vision for programs like the STEM grant initiative tie back into the fundamental basis for the creation of the TVA.
“When the TVA was established, the root was to make life better in the Valley. Today we are proud to present these checks for the STEM grants as they will help to better the opportunities for students that live here,” said Peterson.
The Glasgow EPB is proud to showcase this great opportunity for local schools, and any school that is interested in more information regarding grants and workshops available through the Glasgow EPB and TVA is encouraged to reach out to Aaron Russell, Marketing & Communications Director for the Glasgow EPB.