Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative (CCEC) and the Carteret-Craven Electric Foundation have awarded $30,546 in Bright Ideas education grants to 38 educators in Carteret County and Havelock to fund engaging projects for their students. More than 7,000 area students will benefit from these grants.
“Educators who win Bright Ideas grants are going above and beyond for their students,” said Melissa Glenn, communications director at CCEC. “The innovative and creative learning initiatives developed by our area’s teachers are impressive, and we are proud to help them bring these bright ideas to life.
”Over the past 30 years, CCEC and its foundation have contributed more than $646,000 to local teachers, funding 852 projects benefiting over 175,000 students in Carteret County and Havelock. Winning projects cover nearly all subjects, including science, math, technology, art, music, and more.
CCEC is one of 26 electric cooperatives in North Carolina offering Bright Ideas grants to local teachers. Since 1994, North Carolina’s electric cooperatives collectively have awarded nearly $16 million in Bright Ideas funding for almost 15,000 projects benefiting nearly 4 million students statewide.
Bright Ideas grant applications are accepted by the co-op each year from April through mid-September, and winning proposals are selected in a competitive evaluation process by a panel of judges. The application process will reopen for interested teachers in April 2025.
The Bright Ideas grant program is part of Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative’s ongoing commitment to building a brighter future through community support of education.
Follow CCEC on Facebook @CarteretCraven to see how programs, such as Bright Ideas, are impacting local students and communities. To learn more about Bright Ideas grants, visit our Bright Ideas page and follow @NCBrightIdeas on Facebook and Twitter.
2024 Bright Ideas Education Grant Winners
School | Applicant | Title |
|---|---|---|
| A Sea of Learning | Patience Haye | Free Your Mind and The Rest Will Follow |
| Annunciation Catholic School | Norma Fulton | Mixing math and Science in the Land of Oz |
| Arthur Edwards Elementary | Heather Santos | Terrific Tech for Hands-on Learning |
| Atlantic Elementary | Deidre Arthur | Shipshape STEM Bins |
| Atlantic Elementary | Faith Piner Styron | Minds Mesmerized with Microscopes & Microphones |
| Beaufort Elementary | Amy Wilson | Birds of a Feather |
| Bridges Learning Center | Nicole Crampton | Feed the Chickens |
| Broad Creek Middle | Rebeccah Haines | Let's Have a "Wheely" Good Time and "Phun" with Physics |
| Broad Creek Middle | Krystle Diefenbach | Calming Room |
| Broad Creek Middle | Ashley Colley | Walk It, Talk It |
| East Carteret High | Melissa Perritt | Buzzing Towards Brilliance: Launching A Quiz Bowl Team |
| Gramercy Christian School | Katie Long | Creative Design and Technology in the Classroom |
| Havelock Elementary | Karen Branch | Welcome to Cluckingham Palace |
| Havelock Elementary | Madison Kurre | Second Grade Paleontologists: Fossil Hunting for the Megalodon |
| Havelock High | Patricia Blair Dyal | "Jazzing Up" our Percussion Section |
| Havelock High | Eric Dougherty | Building Water Quality Awareness |
| Marshside Community School | Laurie Power | Creative Computers and Coding Concepts |
| Morehead City Elementary | Janette DeVan | Problem Solved! Movement & Fun to Accelerate Mathematics Learning |
| Morehead City Middle | Jasa Ellis | Save A Life |
| Morehead City Primary | Claire Ross | Rocks Rock & Soil is Super! |
| Nature School at Camp Albemarle | Kelly Justice | Rhythm and Roots: A Comprehensive Music Program |
| Newport Middle School | Karen Hudson-McClosley | From Paper to Perch: Engaging Math through Birdhouse Construction |
| Newport Middle School | Todd M Stehle | It's ELECTRIFYING! |
| Newport Middle School | Heather Montero | Stop Motion Superstars and Makerspace Madness! |
| Newport Middle School | Stacey Stehle | Delicious Science! |
| Newport Middle School | Alex Glass | Unlock the Past: Social Studies Adventures using Breakout Boxes |
| Newport Middle School | Ann Kelly | Exploring with Foldscopes |
| Newport Middle School | Cynthia Ackerson Delafuente | Engaged with K'nex for Force and Motion |
| Smyrna Elementary School | Ashley Surfass | Climbing to Success |
| Smyrna Elementary School | Dawn M Simpson | Recharge with Research: Inside-Out! |
| Smyrna Elementary School | Bridget Daniels Davis | Becoming More Mindful |
| Tiller School | Dana Pingatore | Rocket Science: Air Power a Journey of Forces |
| Tiller School | Sarah Harker Leary | Pixel Crafts Lab |
| Tiller School | Jetta Ivester | STEAMing with Words (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) |
| Tucker Creek Middle School | Cheri Brody | Taking Learning to New Heights |
| Tucker Creek Middle School | Rosemary Steinman | Helping students learn in the space they learn best! |
| West Carteret High School | Theresa Replogle | Perseverance and Concentration |
| West Carteret High School | Ashley Allen | Celebration of Employable Students |