From sensory gardens to student-constructed ferris wheels, Berkeley County School District teachers have some innovative projects in the works.
Thirty educators/employees from 15 BCSD schools were able to secure funding – either individually or as a team – through Berkeley Electric Cooperative’s 2023 Bright Ideas Education Program.
The program supports innovative and effective classroom education curriculum that cannot be covered by traditional school financing. Individual teachers can apply for grants up to $1,000 while teams of teachers are eligible for grants up to $1,500.
Teachers in public and private schools, K-12 in Berkeley Electric Cooperative’s service area are eligible to participate. Grants are awarded for projects in any discipline and are intended to help teachers within Berkeley Electric Cooperative’s service area produce a better-educated workforce. The grants are designed to help teachers introduce innovative teaching methods.
Grants are awarded annually in a competitive evaluation process. This year, with the support of the community, Berkeley Electric was able to distribute more than $35,000 to 30 different educational projects across the Lowcountry, supporting teachers and their classrooms.
Congratulations to three Cane Bay Middle educators for securing a Bright Ideas Grant!
Special services teachers Jodi Smith, Traci Hart and Nancy Bone will be using their funds to build a sensory garden in the school’s courtyard. An area of the courtyard has already been set aside for the teachers’ use. The team will order an outdoor glider, a solar water fountain, wind chimes, birdfeeders, some sweet-smelling plants and some ground covering.
“We want the students to be able to touch and interact with everything in our garden,” Smith said.