FPL AWARDS GRANTS TO BREVARD TEACHERS
By Space Coast Daily // January 30, 2013
Will Support New Classroom Energy Projects
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – A number of Brevard teachers have been awarded grants by Florida Power & Light Company to support innovative, teacher-designed classroom projects.
The projects aim to teach students about energy, its sources, and uses and are part of a statewide initiative to provide teachers with a combined $47,000 in grants ranging from $500 to $2,500 to fund projects including wind turbine generators, solar car and golf cart races, and cooking with the power of the sun.
All projects adhere to the Florida State Board of Education’s Sunshine State Standards.
Teachers submitted proposals to be judged and selected according to stated goals, energy curriculum content, creativity, and plans for budget and evaluation.
“FPL has consistently demonstrated a commitment to clean energy in the community and we’re thrilled to partner with Florida’s teachers to bring exciting, innovative projects into the classroom to get their students inspired to help us lead the way to tomorrow’s clean energy world,” said Pam Rauch , FPL vice president of Development and External Affairs.
FPL’s Teacher Grant Program has cumulatively awarded more than $175,000 to 175 teachers across FPL’s 35-county service territory over the past four years. The grants are provided courtesy of the NextEra Energy Foundation, which is funded by shareholders of FPL’s parent company, NextEra Energy, Inc., the nation’s largest producer of renewable energy from the wind and the sun.
Recipients are selected by the National Education Energy Development project (NEED), a nonprofit organization working with energy companies and agencies to bring balanced energy curriculum and training to the nation’s classrooms.
“While the importance of science and engineering education grows, school budgets are shrinking,” said NEED Executive Director Mary Spruill . “The Teacher Grant program, combined with curriculum support and teacher training, steps up to help provide our schoolchildren the opportunities they need to learn about energy.”
FPL’s Teacher Grant program is part of FPL’s larger commitment to clean energy in the state. Beyond the teacher projects, FPL has installed Next Generation Solar Energy Station arrays at 14 educational facilities across Florida and built three large-scale solar power plants to supply power to its customers.
Brevard teachers to receive grants include:
• Elizabeth Faulkner, Apollo Elementary School
• Naim Torlak, Bayside High School
• Teresa Arrouet, Brevard Virtual School
• Somer Y. Sutton, Heritage High School
• W. Randy Lyons, Heritage High School
• Sherry Love, Jupiter Elementary School
• Tonya Doughty, Jupiter Elementary School
• Christine Gayle, Jupiter Elementary School
• Joseph Harvey, Merritt Island High School /DaVinci Academy of Aerospace Technology
• Holly Mentillo, Ocean Breeze Elementary School
• Stacey O’Connor, R.L. Stevenson School of the Arts
• Tom Englert, R.L. Stevenson School of the Arts
