This month Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative awarded two Bright Ideas education grants, totaling $1,516, to exceptional teachers at the Cape Hatteras Elementary School (CHES). These grants are awarded each year to K-12 educators for innovative projects that enhance student learning.

Congratulations to Jessea Waterfield, for her project “Create, Visualize, and Learn with 3D Pens”.  Jessea is a third-grade teacher at CHES. She will use the grants funds to purchase 3D pens and filament that will help her students create, visualize and better understand key concepts during the school year. Students will be able to make tangible models which will aid in their ability to gain a deeper understanding through their learning process. They will create models of different landform features, make representations of plant parts, construct 3D shapes and even design different characters they are reading and writing about.

Congratulations to Beverly Hagy, for her wining project, “Classroom Flexible Seating”. Beverly is also a third-grade teacher at CHES. Beverly plans to use her grant funds to incorporate flexible seating in her classroom to offer a safe and comfortable learning environment. Students will have the opportunity to engage in learning in an atmosphere that provides structed activities with flexible options including rocker chairs, floor cushions and portable lap desks.

CHEC is proud to help bring these projects to life, in partnership with North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, through the Bright Ideas Education Grant program. Since the Bright Ideas program began 23 years ago, more than $10.9 million has been awarded to sponsor 10,400 projects reaching over 2.1 million students across North Carolina.

To learn more about Bright Ideas grants, visit ncbrightideas.com and follow @NCBrightIdeas on Facebook and Twitter.