(JEFFERSON, GA. Nov. 7, 2017) – Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) awarded 20 middle schools in Gwinnett, Barrow, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin and Clarke counties $50,000 in Bright Ideas grant funds for 34 innovative classroom projects. Winning entries represented a variety of disciplines, including engineering, computer technology, language arts, math, music, science and social studies.

The 2017 grants represent the diversity of learning options for the 21^st century student, including live theatre production lighting and sound engineering, kinetic sculptures and animatronics, and agriculture technology; and teaching options for today’s educators, including quadratics through catapult building, history through a student-written play, and earth science through wind turbine construction.

The Bright Ideas grant program, now in its fourth year at Jackson EMC, funds innovative classroom projects developed by state-certified public middle school educators in the Jackson EMC service area. An independent panel of judges evaluated the applications based on measurable goals and objectives, innovation, student involvement and implementation plans.

For a complete list of Bright Ideas grant winners and more information about the program, go to www.Jacksonemc.com/brightideas.

Jackson Electric Membership Corporation, the largest electric cooperative in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation, is headquartered 50 miles northeast of Atlanta in Jefferson, Ga. The cooperative serves more than 225,000 meters on 14,000 miles of energized wire. For more information, visit jacksonemc.com.