Press Release
A JMCSS communication for families & community stakeholders
Four schools across the district awarded TVA STEM grants
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
JACKSON, TN —Academic and extracurricular opportunities will increase this year for students at four JMCSS schools as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has awarded STEM Classroom Grants to North Side High School, East Elementary, Rose Hill School, and Denmark Elementary. These funds, totaling $18,500, will be used to enhance learning opportunities for students in science, technology, engineering, and math.
“We commend the teachers who have used their time and efforts to apply for this grant. We're looking to help cultivate and nurture students so that fifteen years from now they are in the positions we are in at TVA and JEA,” said Ted Austin, Chief Customer Officer for Jackson Energy Authority.
Above photo: Ted Austin, Chief Customer Officer at JEA, visited Rose Hill School recently to award the school with a $5,000 TVA STEM Grant award. Austin is a JMCSS alum (South Side).
These four Jackson-Madison County schools are among the 343 schools across seven states in the Tennessee Valley region that earned a share of the $1.5 million TVA STEM Classroom Grant, in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Inc., a TVA retiree organization, awarded this school year. The North Side BioSTEM program won the single maximum award of $5,000 and will use the funds on a research project that focuses on biofuels through soil collection in various parts of the Hub City.
“We know new careers will be developed as the global conversation on clean energy continues to expand. This project will allow students to build on their understanding of Environmental and Physical Science concepts by gaining hands-on experience in biofuel research. It’s exciting to add this new opportunity for students in our BioSTEM program,” said North Side BioSTEM teacher Danielle Shaw-Jones.
Above photo: BioSTEM students at North Side High School are seen here with their teacher Danielle Shaw-Jones. North Side is one of four JMCSS schools awarded with competitive grants from TVA.
These competitive awards were made possible through project applications completed by dedicated science teachers, like Shaw-Jones, at their respective campuses: Lisa Vogan at East Elementary, Chariot Dugger at Rose Hill School, and Jennifer Burkhead at Denmark Elementary.
“We continue to see community partners investing strongly in our schools. From campus-based initiatives supported now through the TVA Classroom Grant to the upcoming Toyota Engineering, Manufacturing & Mechatronics Institute at the Malesus STEM Innovation Center, this is an exciting time in the life of Jackson-Madison County Schools,” added Dr. Teresa McSweeney, Chief Innovation Officer for JMCSS.
Photo below: Representatives from TVA, JEA, JMCSS Innovation, and East Elementary were on hand to celebrate with East Elementary 1st grade teacher Lisa Vogan. Vogan was successful in applying for a TVA Classroom STEM Grant.
“We’re doing this because we want to prepare the students who are going to be our workforce in the future, both JEA and TVA. And we want to encourage them to get into these stem careers,” said Martha Swindle, Community Relations Specialist for TVA.
Through multilayered, project-based learning at the high school and middle school levels and the development of STEM creation stations at the elementary school level, students will enhance their problem-solving skills while developing into stronger scholars. Visit www.jmcss.org/innovation for more STEM news.
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