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Dr. Hannah Ardrey of Oxford Middle School reacts to the news she was awarded a grant. Northeast Mississippi Electric Power Association presented grants in Oxford, Miss. on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2022. (©Bruce Newman)

Sarah Brooke Bishop with Pamela Rodgers of the Lafayette Learning Center. Northeast Mississippi Electric Power Association presented the grants. (©Bruce Newman)

Sarah Brooke Bishop with Lafayette High School teacher Mary Micah Mooney. Northeast Mississippi Electric Power Association presented the grants. (©Bruce Newman)

Sarah Brooke Bishop, Oxford High School teacher Logan Dodson, Brittany Hill, and OHS Asst. Principal Lucas Ferguson. Northeast Mississippi Electric Power Association presented the grants. (©Bruce Newman)

Lafayette High School Asst. Principal Dr. Thomas Tillman, NEMEPA HR Director Brittany Hill, LHS teacher Bethany Lucas, NEMEPA Communication and Marketing Director Sarah Brooke Bishop and Lafayette School District Superintendent Jay Foster. Northeast Mississippi Electric Power Association presented the grants. (©Bruce Newman) (Photos by Bruce Newman)

Area school teachers were recently awarded Bright Ideas grants from North East Mississippi Electric Power Association and NE SPARC. Ten local educators were selected after submitting an online  application and being judged by an independent selection process. These educators secured funds for their creative and innovative classroom projects. 

Representatives of the cooperative visited Lafayette, Oxford, Pontotoc and West Union school districts to distribute the nearly $5,000 awarded to school teachers through the Bright Ideas program that will enrich the education of hundreds of children.  

“The Bright Ideas grant program allows us to give back to the community. We appreciate the dedication and hard  work of our local educators, and this is a small token of that appreciation,” said Sarah Brooke Bishop, Communications and Marketing Manager NEMEPA, NE SPARC. “The fun happens when we surprise the winning teachers and schools in-person with the award.” 

This is the second year, NEMEPA and NE SPARC distributed grants of up to $500 to public school teachers  teaching K through 12th grade in their service territory. All classroom subjects are eligible for funding including  but not limited to STEAM, language arts and social studies. Teachers with a bright idea simply submit an online  form when applications are open.  

This year’s winners include the following:  

• Hannah Ardrey, Oxford Middle School  
• Susan Brown, D.T. Cox Elementary School 
• Brandi Cooper, West Union Attendance Center 
• Jenny Crowson, Oxford Middle School 
• Logan Dodson, Oxford High School 
• Ginger Heatherly, D.T. Cox Elementary School 
• Bethany Lucas, Lafayette High School 
• Mary Micah Mooney, Lafayette High School 
• Jordan Owen, D.T. Cox Elementary School 
• Pamela Rodgers, Lafayette Learning Center 

The 2024 Bright Ideas grant application form will open in July 2024. For more information, visit www.nemepa.org/brightideas. 

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

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