UCOR awards 33 mini-grants for local school projects

UCOR, the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor at the Oak Ridge Reservation, has announced the 33 winners of the UCOR Education Mini-Grant Program.

UCOR is a partnership between URS and CH2M Oak Ridge LLC.

The company said one of its primary objectives is to support and encourage education initiatives.

“The Mini-Grant Program was designed to recognize and support excellence in teaching by providing funds to assist classroom teachers for specific projects or curricula, focusing primarily on science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM,” a press release said.

“The UCOR Mini-Grant Program enables teachers to enhance their students’ educational experiences,” said Ken Rueter, UCOR president and project manager. “The selected projects funded by our program give students a greater insight into the essential STEM subjects in fun and exciting ways.”

The UCOR Mini-Grant committee has selected the following projects:

• Kim Howard, Woodland Elementary School—STEM Interactive Materials Project
• Donnel Malone, Hardin Valley Elementary School—Hands on Science Labs
• Jason Young, Roane County High School—Country-wide Robotics Team
• Jenifer Laurendine, Woodland Elementary School—Math and Movement Family Fun Night
• Jessica Conaster, Grand Oaks Elementary School—Math and Movement
• Madeline Ferguson, Powell High School—Mathlete
• Beth McCoy, Robertsville Middle School—NASA Cube Satellite Challenge
• Denise Miller, St. Mary’s School—Technology Support for Introductory Robotics Program
• Courtney Bass, Anderson County Head Start—Brain Busters
• Amelia Bell, Glenwood Elementary School—Let’s Get Cooking: Connecting Girls to STEM
• Lucy Brooks, Anderson County Preschool/Dutch Valley School—Little Hands…BIG Ideas!
• Mary Ball, South Knoxville Elementary School—Neighborhood Stewards
• Bryan Freeman and Jenna Howerton, Clinton Middle School—“Seeing It All” with Binocular Dissecting Microscope
• James Scheele, Norris Elementary School—Kids K’NEX Class
• Rebecca Beers, Stanford Eisenberg Knoxville School—Real World Application for Math and Science
• Janie Shanafield, Jefferson Middle School—EV3 Boot Camp and Lego Robotics Tournament
• Trevor Renfro, Cedar Bluff Elementary School—Increasing ELL’s Mathematic Vocabulary
• Kari Schubauer, Stanford Eisenberg Knoxville School—Changing Ecosystem
• Jamie Bevins, Ball Camp Elementary School—Earth Science Rocks!
• Katie Bell, Stanford Eisenberg Knoxville School—Integrating Design Challenges
• Janis Bishop, Dutch Valley Elementary School, Stem Resources in the Library
• Katie McKee, Midway Middle School—Using Articles to Supplement Textbooks
• Louise Lindsay, Stanford Eisenberg Knoxville School—Robots in the Classroom
• Taffy Ridenour, Anderson County Pre-School—STEM Family Engagement Weekend Challenges
• Ted Fletcher, Anderson County Preschool—Successful Start
• Mandy Dye, Cedar Bluff Preschool—Building “Chutes and Ladders” in Preschool
• Krista Manning, Ridgedale School—Fun with STEM
• Susan Parker, Chilhowee Intermediate School—iExplore Robotics with Meccanoids
• Madison Jones, Norris Middle School—VEX IQ Robotics Program
• Aundrea Mitchell, Farragut High School—TSA Engineering Design
• Jill Hudson and Carrie Guy, Cherokee Middle School—“Leg-up” with LEGO League
• Adam Trout, Rockwood Middle School—Making Models Matter
• Adam Trout, Rockwood Middle School—School-wide Engineering Design Competition

Applications were screened and awardees selected using a blind process that prevented members of the selection panel from knowing the names of the teachers or the schools. Schools in Roane, Anderson, Loudon, Knox, and Morgan counties were eligible to submit proposals.

UCOR’s Mini-Grant Program has awarded the grants annually, since 2012.