North East Mississippi Electric Power Association and NE SPARC have partnered to form a grant program for local school teachers that facilitates innovative classroom-based education  projects called Bright Ideas. Through Bright Ideas, teachers can illuminate students’ love of learning.  

The Bright Ideas grant program aims to encourage, support and celebrate creative educational experiences for the students and staff in our service area.  

Local educators can apply for Bright Ideas grants of up to $500 for innovative, hands-on classroom projects. The grants are available to K-12 teachers in public schools with at least one student who is a member of North  East power or NE SPARC customer.

Projects can be in any subject, and educators can apply individually or as a  team. 

To apply, teachers must include a budget; explain the implementation, goals, creative elements and evaluation of the project; and have approval from their school’s principal. Applications will be blind judged through a competitive evaluation process, with judges looking for projects that feature inventive and creative approaches to learning. 

Applications will be live in July and online at www.NEMEPA.org. The deadline to submit applications is Wednesday, September 7, 2022. Teachers who submit their application by the early bird deadline of August 15, 2022, will be entered to win prizes that would benefit their classroom. 

For additional information about North East Mississippi Electric Power Association, see www.nemepa.org. For additional details on NE SPARC, see www.nesparc.com.