How 6 Athens schools are advancing STEM with new grants

Julian Newman Elementary earned the highest grant award of the schools in Athens. (Elizabeth Hobbs / Hville Blast)

Six Athens City Schools are the most recent awardees of classroom grants from the Tennessee Valley Authority + its retiree association Bicentennial Volunteers.

An initiative to support STEM efforts in schools at the elementary, middle + high school levels within the TVA service region (which comprises the entire state of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina + Virginia) is responsible for the grants.

The awards aim to aid school projects in the name of STEM (science, technology, engineering + math). Teachers from schools all across the TVA’s expansive reach competed for a slice, which could total up to $5,000 per project.

See how $20,500 is being used to advance STEM efforts in Athens schools.

Here’s which Athens schools received TVA STEM grants

We are so proud of all the hard work these Athens schools put in. (Athens Renaissance School)

🧸 Athens High School: $1000

Health Science teacher Nikki Barr plans to use the grant at AHS to host a “Teddy Bear Clinic” + health fair in the spring for first-graders, giving AHS Health Science students a chance to flex their skills while teaching children that doctors are nothing to be afraid of.

🪚 Athens Intermediate School: $2500

Gifted teacher Eryn Mitchell is using the grant to purchase six ChompSaw Maker Bundles to add jigsaw cutting stations to her classroom, providing a chance for students to learn engineering + problem-solving skills in the classroom.