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Ashe Teachers Win Bright Ideas Grants from Blue Ridge Energy
Now in its 31st year of helping teachers provide creative learning projects for students, Blue Ridge Energy is awarding $6,030 in Bright Ideas grants to six local Ashe and Wilkes County classrooms.
Bright Ideas is an academic grants program sponsored annually by Blue Ridge Energy. Bright Ideas grants help further traditional academic learning by funding innovative educational projects beyond available school funding.
Blue Ridge Energy has awarded over $674,000 in Bright Ideas classroom grants, impacting over 150,000 local students and teachers. This year, the cooperative is funding winning grants totaling over $25,000 to 27 classrooms in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, and Wilkes counties.
Ashe and Wilkes County grant-winning teachers are:
- Tiffany Mash of Westwood Elementary School for Mountain Music - the $1,500 grant will be used to bring classroom guitar instructions to 4th–6th grade students through the purchase of 26 guitars. The program will provide students with hands-on music-making experiences that build skills in rhythm, melody, harmony, and ensemble playing. The project will serve approximately 200 students annually and aims to foster lifelong appreciation for music while strengthening connections between schools, community arts organizations, and higher education.
- Leeann Cronk of Ashe County Middle School for Strings of Memory: An Interdisciplinary Journey through "The Housekeeper and the Professor” - the $285 grant will be used to fund copies of Yoko Ogawa’s The Housekeeper and the Professor and paintbrushes. The novel will be the centerpiece of an interdisciplinary learning experience connecting literature, mathematics, art, and social-emotional growth. Students will read the novel and explore themes through math investigations, creative journaling, and artistic expression, allowing students to see how math and literature are not separate silos but interconnected ways of understanding the world and one another.
- Rachel Bledsoe of Ashe County Middle School for No Fear History: Don’t Call Me ‘Chicken’! - the $1,200 grant will be used to fund a book collection of humorous historical American fiction stories told from chickens’ perspectives: A Chicken Was There Too. Students will uncover the real events behind each story, connect them to primary sources, and create their own “eyewitness” chicken narratives or comics tied to local history. It will show students that history isn’t just a list of dates and facts, but a rich tapestry of stories about the people—and imaginative chickens—who experienced the birth of a nation.
- Summer Davis of Ashe County Middle School for Beyond the Book: From Page to Stage to STEM - the $1,445 grant will be used to fund four interactive literature-based units that integrate competition, creativity, and community engagement, integrating Math, Science, Social Studies, Art and Technology. With creative opportunities, purposeful design, and student-led action, Beyond the Book will transform reading into an active, memorable adventure that builds skills and inspires lifelong learning.
- Sarah Lambert of Ashe County High School for Translate and Connect - the $600 grant will be used to fund AI-powered translating earbuds to provide instant, two-way translation for multilingual learners throughout the school day. The earbuds will enable students to understand instruction in their native language, participate in classroom discussions, collaborate effectively on projects, and engage meaningfully with peers.
- Rachel Minick of Wilkesboro Elementary School for Collaboration Stations - the $1,000 grant will be used to fund indoor and outdoor collaboration stations. Using Imagination Playground blocks and loose-parts play materials, students will engage in hands-on, collaborative activities that spark curiosity, creativity, and cooperation. These Collaboration Stations will be designed to help students practice and strengthen key social-emotional and lifelong learning skills, including communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and positive group behavior.
“Blue Ridge Energy is proud to be in our 31st year of providing Bright Ideas grants to support our schools and teachers in building brighter futures for our communities,” said Tasha Rountree, director of community relations and economic development for Blue Ridge Energy. “I’m proud that Blue Ridge can help by funding creative classroom projects that bring innovative learning experiences to our students.”
Blue Ridge Energy is part of several North Carolina electric cooperatives that provide Bright Ideas grants. Together, they have provided over $16.5 million for over 15,400 classroom projects, impacting over 3.8 million students in North Carolina.
Blue Ridge Energy is a member-owned electric cooperative serving some 80,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Caldwell, Avery, Alexander, and Caldwell counties. To learn more about the Bright Ideas grants program, visit www.BlueRidgeEnergy.com or contact your local Blue Ridge Energy office.