S

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Inc., a TVA retiree organization, is awarding, for the third year in a row, $1.5 million in awards to educators to develop science, technology, engineering, and math education projects across the Tennessee Valley region.

“Inspiring young people to pursue careers in STEM fields is so important,” said TVA President and CEO Don Moul. “A workforce with specialized skills means more economic opportunities for people across our seven-state region and more opportunities for our students to achieve high-paying jobs that will support their families and make their communities a better place to live when they grow up.”

The competitive STEM classroom award program is operated in partnership with the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, managed by the Battelle organization. The program received 528 applications, and 339 schools were selected for funding.

Since 2018, TVA/BVI has provided over $9 million in STEM grants supporting over 845,000 students.

“BVI is proud to stand alongside TVA in sparking curiosity and building pathways for young people across the Tennessee Valley,” said Kathy Black, president, Bicentennial Volunteers, Inc. “The STEM Awards program reflects our shared belief that investing in education today fuels the talent and innovation that will sustain our communities for generations to come. The awards meet the diverse needs of local communities.”

Locally, some of the schools named as recipients include West Middle School, with Tullahoma Utilities Authority as its local power company, and North Coffee Elementary and Hickerson Elementary schools, with Duck River Electric Membership Corporation as the schools’ local power company.

Awards up to $5,000 were awarded in a competitive process, and preference was given to grant applications that explored TVA’s primary areas of focus: environment, energy, economic development, and community problem-solving. Any school that receives their power from a local power company served by TVA was eligible to apply.

A full list of the grant recipients can be found at tva.com/stem.

About TVA

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.