Seventeen area teachers will offer new experiences in their classrooms this year thanks to funding through American Electric Power’s Teacher Vision Grant program.

The grants – which range from $200 to $500 – will provide materials and supplies for a variety of projects, including 3D printing, innovative reading and math curricula and engineering design.

“We are studying the Louisiana Purchase in Social Studies and ELA (English/Language Arts), so I wanted to add a STEM concept to this project,” said Riverside Elementary teacher Alexis Morris.

Morris said her students will recreate the Lewis and Clark Expedition by making a salt map and using Ozobots – smart robots that bring coding and creativity to classrooms – to represent the Lewis and Clark party.

“What’s interesting is that students will use a marker (red/blue/black) to create trails and riverways, and the Ozobot can read those colors and will move along their paths,” Morris said.

In addition to her project, other grants will be used to purchase:

Northwest Arkansas

• $500 – a 3D printer for a Gifted and Talented classroom serving third- and fourth-grade students at West Fork Elementary School.
• $500 – cable for agriculture students at Hackett High School to practice residential wiring on wiring boards.

• $500 – problem solving boards and other supplies for a math intervention room at Hackett Elementary School serving all students.

Texarkana

• $500 – a robotics kit to teach students at Murfreesboro High School the engineering design process and coding.
• $500 – astronomy binoculars and companion guide for students at Texas High School to improve literacy and understanding of science concepts.

Northwest Louisiana

• $500 – robotic kit supplies for Gifted students at University Elementary to learn electronics and programming in a simple and fun way.
• $500 – four Chromebooks for students at Herndon Magnet School.
• $500 – floor seating storage and other supplies for a flexible seating area for Herndon Magnet School students to use during reading and writing activities.
• $500 – lap desks and other supplies for a flexible seating area for Herndon Magnet School to use while engaging in math stations. 
• $500 – robots, sensors and other supplies to spark student interest in STEM at Linwood Middle School.
• $500 – supplies for STEAM activities that allow first- through fifth-grade students at Riverside Elementary to utilize critical thinking skills while solving daily problems.
• $500 – award-winning books and other reading materials to promote literacy in the primary grades at Queensborough Leadership Academy.
• $500 – two Dash robots and accessories to enable University Elementary students to conduct a scientific experiment on how magnets interact, and which objects are the most magnetic.
• $200 – hot wire fence kit and supplies for CBC Homeschool students to learn how electric circuits work on a hot wire fence for cattle.
• $500 – gardening tools, potting soil and other equipment needed to build planter boxes for middle school students at AMIkids.
• $500 – materials and supplies for a literacy lab at Linwood Public Charter School.

The AEP Teacher Vision Grant program launched in 2003 to provide aid ranging from $100 to $500 to classroom teachers.

“These grants are designed to reward the talents and creativity of Pre-K through grade 12 educators devoted to motivating youth to think creatively, to step into leadership roles and to address the challenges of the future,” said SWEPCO External Affairs Vice President Brian Bond.

Educators who live or teach in the AEP service area or in communities with major AEP facilities are eligible to apply for the mini grants. Projects that have an academic focus and a goal of improving student achievement are eligible for consideration. AEP has a special interest in science, mathematics, technology, electrical safety and the balanced study of energy and the environment. 

For more information on the AEP Teacher Vision Grant program and other AEP education initiatives, see www.aep.com/go/education.