News

Three Starkville Teachers Awarded $12,500 in STEM Grants from TVA

Competitive program funds science, technology, engineering, and math projects

STARKVILLE – Teachers at three schools served by Starkville Utilities are receiving $12,500 in grants to develop science, technology, engineering, and math education projects as part of a STEM grant program funded by the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated, a TVA retiree organization.

Josiah Lawrence, an eighth-grade science teacher at Armstrong Junior High; Kimberly Vaughn, a fifth-grade teacher at Overstreet Elementary; and Susie Wall, an AP science teacher at Starkville Academy, are among 197 educators across TVA’s seven-state service territory who won STEM classroom grants.

Schools must receive their power from a TVA distributor to participate.

“We congratulate educators whose innovative ideas are helping enhance STEM education in classrooms throughout our community,” said Terry Kemp, general manager of Starkville Utilities. “We’re also appreciative that local schools and teachers can benefit from Starkville Utilities’ partnership with TVA. We believe an investment in education is an investment in the future.”

Armstrong Junior High School received a $5,000 grant to equip the science classroom with Chromebooks and digital technologies to support online learning and college readiness.

Overstreet Elementary School’s $5,000 grant will be used to build an outdoor classroom where teachers and students can conduct scientific experiments and presentations in a setting that supports social distancing.

At Starkville Academy, a $2,500 grant will help purchase supplies for advanced placement classes focused on environmental science, biology and chemistry.

“TVA is committed to supporting STEM education to help develop today’s students into tomorrow’s engineers, scientists and IT professionals,” said Jeannette Mills, TVA executive vice president and chief external relations officer. “It’s inspiring to be able to contribute to the innovators of the next generation."

Starkville Utilities is a municipally owned and operated electric and water utility, serving more than 14,000 residences, businesses and industries in Starkville as well as the state’s largest institution of higher learning, Mississippi State University.