Sumter County teacher awarded Bright Ideas grant
Published 9:58 am Monday, December 31, 2018
- Shown with Becky Schabeck, at center, are Sharon Tullis, Ed.D., principal of Sumter County Elementary School, at left, and Jennifer Morton, Community Connections Specialist for Flint Energies, at right, presenting the grant prize money.
AMERICUS — Becky Schabeck, a teacher in the Sumter County Schools System, was awarded a Bright Ideas Grant for $995. Bright Ideas is a grant program sponsored by the Flint Energies Foundation and Flint Energies. Awards are issued for innovative lessons and projects to energize learning.
Schabeck has purchased Letters Alive software, which is a supplemental reading program that uses research-based lessons to teach phonics. The software is presented to the students using a 3D augmented reality world incorporating animals, science and literacy.
Bright Ideas, a grant program sponsored by the Flint Energies Foundation and Flint Energies, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, awards teachers money for innovative lessons and projects to energize learning in their students. In 2018, a total of $26,500 was awarded using participating Flint members’ small change through Operation Round Up. Since 2006, nearly $225,000 has been awarded to fund 227 projects reaching more than 6,800 students in Middle Georgia.
The Bright Ideas program distributes money as grants of up to $1,000 for teachers of grades K-12 at public or private schools located in the Co-op’s 17-county service territory. The grants are not for professional development or Smart Board purchases.