Four Lexington School District Two educators have been awarded Bright Ideas grants from Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative for their innovative school projects.

Here are the four educators and their projects:

Haley Williamson, a special education teacher at Brookland-Cayce High School, has been awarded a $1,000 Bright Ideas grant for her project, “Bearcat Brew.” This will be a student-run, school-based business designed to provide her high school students with disabilities meaningful, hands-on opportunities to develop employment, communication, financial, social, and independent living skills. Students will plan, prepare, market, sell, and manage a variety of beverages at school. “Rather than simply learning about employment through worksheets and simulations, students will experience what it means to arrive at work, complete assigned responsibilities, interact with customers, handle money, maintain a clean workspace, follow safety procedures, work as part of a team, and take pride in a product they helped create,” Williamson said.

Jessica Kelly, a science teacher at Northside Middle School, has been awarded an $850 Bright Ideas grant to launch two weather stations and two outdoor solar Wi-Fi cameras for sixth-grade students to collect and observe real-time weather data. Weather stations will allow students to collect live data on temperature, precipitation, wind, humidity, and atmospheric conditions, while solar Wi-Fi cameras provide continuous visual observations of changing weather conditions. Students will analyze authentic local data, identify patterns, make evidence-based weather predictions, and compare their forecasts with actual conditions. “Combining environmental monitoring, renewable solar technology, digital observation, and data analysis creates an innovative outdoor learning laboratory that extends science beyond the classroom and directly supports South Carolina sixth-grade science standards,” Kelly said.

Molly Currin, an art teacher at Airport High School, has been awarded a $1,000 Bright Ideas grant for her project, “Fusing Glass: Art and Chemistry in Action.” Students will learn about the chemical properties of glass while experimenting with color and composition to create a fused glass piece – a bowl, plate, or suncatcher, for example. Students will not only explore silica’s atomic structure and glass as an amorphous solid but will discover coefficients of expansion, use polariscopes to check for stress lines, and predict thermal reactions of metal oxides. Creatively using the elements of color and shape, they will cut and design their own fused glass art while employing technical skills to run a kiln schedule, observe the fusing process, and analyze the results. “These opportunities open up a world of possibilities in both artistic and scientific understanding,” Currin said. “Students will benefit by the transformation of our studio into an experimental lab, empowering them to see chemistry as a vital artistic tool rather than an abstract science.”

Amanda Mills, a third grade teacher at Cayce Elementary, has been awarded a $1,000 Bright Ideas grant for her project, “Read It. Record It. Own It!” It will transform the classroom into a student-led recording studio where third-graders will create audiobooks, reader’s theater, original stories, poetry, informational texts, and science content. “The goal of this project is to improve students’ reading fluency, comprehension, writing, speaking, and listening skills through engaging audio experiences,” Mills said. “Students will use recording technology to practice, self-assess, and improve their reading while creating meaningful products. The project will also strengthen science learning by allowing students to explain concepts, share research, and communicate scientific ideas through podcasts and recordings. Ultimately, students will build confidence, creativity, collaboration, and digital literacy while giving them an engaging way to showcase their knowledge and growth.”

Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative awarded an estimated $20,000 in grants this year to support local educators and their students in innovative project work. The Lexington Two educators will be honored with other grant winners at a luncheon later this month.

From left, Cayce Principal Elaine Lundy, grant winner Amanda Mills, Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative marketing specialist Erin Hedgecock, and Assistant Principal Ashley Caulder.

Grant winner Haley Williamson, center, with, from left, Brookland-Cayce High School administrators Principal Dr. Vance Jones, and Assistant Principal Leon Brunson, Assistant Principal of Instruction Ryan Van Omen, and Assistant Principals Lakeisha Gardner and Amy Rankin.

From left, Northside Middle Assistant Principal Bryson Summers, Assistant Administrator Rebecca Helms, grant winner Jessica Kelly, Principal Dr. Tiffany Hall, and Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative’s Erin Hedgecock and Melanie Dodson.

From left, Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative’s Melanie Dodson, Airport High School Principal Matt Schilit, grant winner Molly Currin, and Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative’s Erin Hedgecock.