UCOR awards 25 mini-grants for local school projects

 

URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) on Monday announced 20 winners from five East Tennessee counties in the 2017 UCOR Education Mini-Grant Program, which recognizes and supports excellence in teaching.

Awarded annually since 2012, grant funds assist classroom teachers in developing specific projects or curricula, focusing primarily on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), a press release said.

“One of UCOR’s primary objectives is to support and encourage education initiatives,” said Ken Rueter, UCOR president and project manager. “The UCOR Mini-Grant Program enables teachers to enhance their students’ educational experiences. Selected projects funded by our program give students a greater insight into the essential STEM subjects in fun and exciting ways.”

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 is the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor for the East Tennessee Technology Park (former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant) and other sites on its Oak Ridge Reservation.

The UCOR Mini-Grant committee has selected the following projects and teachers for awards:

Anderson County

• “Circuitry and Innovation”—Maria Spiva, Deanna Blackburn, and Laura Dailey at Norris Middle School
• “Syzygy Over Tennessee: K-4th Students Experience 2017 Total Solar Eclipse”—Lisa Buckner at Linden Elementary School
• “Pi, Square Root, and Scientific Notation: Precision in Mathematics Using the TI-30xs”—Ligia Boundy at Clinton Middle School
• “Seeing It All with Compound Light Microscopes”—Bryan E. Freeman at Clinton Middle School
• “Balancing Student Equipment Needs”—Nicole Patalano at Clinton Middle School
• “It’s Electric!”—Cristen Holden at Clinton Middle School

Knox County

• “Using Swivl to Enhance Mathematics Inside and Outside of the Classroom”—Susan Bothman at Bearden High School
• “From Drawing Prototypes to Creating Prototypes”—Miriam Esther Wilhelm at Stanford Eisenberg Knoxville Jewish Day School
• “Integrating Alternative Learning Resources with Classroom Instruction”—Terratta Wakefield at West Hills Elementary School

Loudon County

• “IGNITE Your Imagination!”—Angela Bright-White at Philadelphia Elementary School
• “Calculation Station”—submitted by Anne Harvey at North Middle School

Morgan County

• “Ready! Set! Engage!”—Donna Widner at Oliver Springs Middle School
• “Hooked On Rivers, Not on Drugs”—Lesley Spurling at Sunbright Middle School

Roane County

• “The Progressive Power of Printing”—Laura M. Holland at Rockwood Middle School
• “What’s Code Got To Do With It?”—Laura M. Holland at Rockwood Middle School
• “The Lego Wall: Makerspace 101”—Laura M. Holland at Rockwood Middle School
• “Cabinet of Curiosity:  Exploring STEM through kits, Non-fiction readings, and Trade books”—Katie McKee at Midway Middle School
• “STEM Initative”—Jennifer Spakes at Dyllis Springs Elementary
• “An ImPRESSive Gifted Program”—Adam Trout at Rockwood Middle School
• “STEM Stations in Kindergarten”—Carly Harrison at Dyllis Springs Elementary
• “Growing Understanding”—Adam Trout at Rockwood Middle School
• “Building Knowledge”—Adam Trout at Rockwood Middle School
• “Rock N Roll”—Adam Trout at Rockwood Middle School
• “Wild About Weather”—Shelia Cantrell at Dyllis Springs Elementary
• “My Tiny House”—Jessica Neeley at Rockwood Middle School

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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