YEC celebrates Bright Ideas grant recipients

In Octo­ber, York Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tive award­ed Bright Ideas grants to local teach­ers in the co-op’s ser­vice ter­ri­to­ry. The Bright Ideas grant pro­gram was cre­at­ed to pro­vide fund­ing for inno­v­a­tive class­room-based edu­ca­tion­al projects. The grants award­ed are intend­ed to fund the projects out­side of nor­mal pub­lic school fund­ing para­me­ters and can be made avail­able to all dis­ci­plines in grades K‑12.

Bright IdeasYEC is proud to rec­og­nize these out­stand­ing teach­ers. Learn what inspires them!

Clover School District

Win­ner

Dr. Kel­ly Clark at Clover High School with her project Spread the Word!

“My stu­dents inspire me to teach. There is no oth­er place you can work where you can get such insight into and hope for our future. It is amaz­ing to be able to learn from them on a dai­ly basis.”

Run­ners Up

Lin­da Nis­bett at Kinard Ele­men­tary School with her project Inno­v­a­tive Instruc­tion with Apple Pens

“I am inspired to work in edu­ca­tion by the thrill and excite­ment that we as edu­ca­tors see when stu­dents learn a new con­cept and make con­nec­tions to their own life.”

Sher­er Hop­kins at Clover High-Ninth Grade Cam­pus and her team­mates Atavi­ous John­son and Jill Sif­ford, with their Mind­ful­ness Room project

“We are con­tin­u­ous­ly inspired by the resilience of our stu­dents. We take pride in the fact that we are able to help them through this often tur­bu­lent, tran­si­tion­al year made even more stress­ful late­ly by COVID-19 wor­ries and restric­tions.”

York School District

Win­ner

Dr. Anne R. Witte at York Mid­dle with her project Lego Mas­ters: Lunch Edi­tion

“I read a quote by Johnathan Kozol that said when teach­ing is done right it is part min­istry and part poet­ry. To me that suc­cinct­ly describes the beau­ty of edu­ca­tion; it is, at its core, inspi­ra­tion. Being able to be part of a child’s learn­ing jour­ney is like watch­ing the best parts of life unfold in front of your eyes.”

Run­ners Up

Brit­ni Steven­son at Harold C. John­son Ele­men­tary with her project News Crew Equip­ment

“I’m inspired to teach by being a con­stant pos­i­tive and safe adult in my stu­dents’ lives.”

Ash­leigh Erb at York Inter­me­di­ate School with her project Locked on Learn­ing

“My why is sim­ple… if not me then who? My stu­dents’ needs can be com­plex and to many may seem daunt­ing, but those AHA moments when they ‘get it’ for the first time make it all worth­while.”

Rock Hill School District

Win­ner

Stacey Walden at Ebin­port Ele­men­tary School with her project Legos for Artis­tic Process­es

“I am inspired by the con­nec­tions, devel­op­ment, and expres­sion of my stu­dent artists every day. See­ing them relate to artists, grow in their tech­nique and abil­i­ties, and find ways to share their feel­ings or ideas through our projects fills me with joy.”

Run­ners Up

Jen­nifer Bush at Rawl­in­son Road Mid­dle School with her project Inte­grat­ing the Arts in ELA

“Shar­ing my pas­sion for teach­ing and love for learn­ing is what inspires me to teach.”

Stephanie Peavy at Sul­li­van Mid­dle School and her team­mates, Ceci Field­stone and Mon­i­ca Jones, with their project Pro­mot­ing Pos­i­tive Behav­ior and Lit­er­a­cy with Inclu­sive Books

“Since I was a young girl, I always knew that I want­ed to be a teacher. It brings me so much joy to build rela­tion­ships with my stu­dents and guide them to find their pas­sion.”

Lynn John­son at Sun­set Park Ele­men­tary School and her team­mates, Misty Lind­gren, Elo­ra Lis­san­drel­lo, Jamia Gads­den and Tilane­sha Man­derville, with their project, Escape the Class­room with Break­out Think­ing

“I must say that it is my love for chil­dren that dri­ves my efforts to build rela­tion­ships and help stu­dents grow in areas of aca­d­e­mics and social-emo­tion­al learn­ing.”

Lancaster School District

Win­ner

Patri­cia McFad­den at Erwin Ele­men­tary with her project Pup­peteers Pro­mot­ing Lit­er­a­cy and Char­ac­ter

“The chil­dren them­selves inspire me to teach. I love being around them and see­ing their faces light up when they learn some­thing new or when they can relate to what we dis­cuss in class.”

Run­ner Up

Helen Prince at Indi­an Land High School and her team­mates, Rebec­ca Brun­son, Michael LeRoy and Cathy Chap­man, with their project Some ‘But­ton’ to Watch Over Me

“Being in the library offers me a chance to work with every sub­ject, grade, and stu­dent. Help­ing stu­dents find infor­ma­tion about their pas­sion and set­ting up an envi­ron­ment that stu­dents feel safe to be them­selves in inspires me to teach.”

Fort Mill School District

Win­ner

Gio­van­na Piaz­za at Riverview Ele­men­tary with her project Lev­el­ing the Play­ing Field

“I am remind­ed dai­ly that although I am offi­cial­ly the teacher in the class­room, often enough it is my stu­dents who are the experts, and we are con­stant­ly learn­ing from each oth­er. It is these con­ver­sa­tions and exchange of ideas with my stu­dents that inspire me to teach.”

Run­ner Up

Eliz­a­beth Par­ra at Cataw­ba Ridge High School with her project Cook­ing in Col­lege 101

“Watch­ing my stu­dents light up when their recipe comes to life in our kitchens inspires me to teach. They have such a sense of pride about each of their cre­ations and it brings joy to my heart know­ing that they have a space to work and have fun.”

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Pho­tos by Erin Pow­ell