Bright Ideas

Bright Ideas is Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative's way of "energizing" creativity in the classroom through educators at local schools. Mid-Carolina awards approximately $16,000 in grants each October to educators who have innovative ideas for their classroom projects. Mid-Carolina Electric sponsors the Bright Ideas program to allow educators to compete for funding outside often-limited school district resources.

The "Bright Ideas Grant Patrol" makes special visits to grant winning teachers, surprising them with a check and other prizes to celebrate their awards with the entire school.

"The idea behind Bright Ideas," according to MCEC's CEO Bob Paulling, "is to help empower good teachers, to provide support outside of normal public school funding for great projects that deserve to be used in the classroom, yet need that extra assistance."

Bright Ideas is open to classroom educators of grades kindergarten through twelve in Lexington School Districts One, Two, Three and Five; Saluda County schools; or Pinegrove Elementary, Rhame Elementary, Sandel Elementary, St. Andrews Middle or Columbia High (Richland County).

Applications are available May through August.  Winners will be announced during the first week of October. To learn more about MCEC's Bright Ideas program, contact Lacy Ridgell at 803-749-6471.