SRNS donates $20,000 to PEP in support of public education

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions formally presented a $20,000 donation to Public Education Partners (PEP) members in Esther Blake's first-grade classroom at Chukker Creek Elementary School on Tuesday.

That was an appropriate site, as Blake has received several "Great Ideas" grants from PEP, most recently $500 in Augusta that she plans to use for small-group literacy centers.

"We're so thankful," she said. "We wouldn't have the extra things we need to teach without PEP" and other grant sources.

Garry Flowers, SRNS' new president and CEO, said he was delighted to support PEP's efforts on behalf of K-12 public education. In the classroom, the students were working on several projects, including instructional activities on a Smartboard.

"These are the leaders of tomorrow," Flowers said. "This is where you have to get them early to teach them to read and teach them math. SRNS is firmly committed to supporting the kind of quality public education we see here at Chukker Creek."

As soon as SRNS came to Aiken, "the first thing they did was to see how they could give back to the community, said Superintendent Dr. Beth Everitt. "That meant a lot to us, and we hope to have a long and prosperous relationship with them." SRNS supports public and private education throughout the Aiken-Augusta area through many programs and educational events.

The focus, said SRNS officials, is on leveraging SRS resources to help improve knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering and math of a diverse population of students and teachers.

"Partnering with an organization like PEP allows SRNS to extend its support of local education further," Flowers said in a press release. "Our leadership team applauds PEP and the (school) district for their partnership, which makes it possible for SRNS and other businesses to have a direct impact on students and their teachers."

SRNS is again a "platinum-level" sponsor for PEP and will be collaborating with the education foundation in supporting PEP programs, including classroom grants to teachers, said PEP Executive Director Diane Mangiante.

"This level of sponsorship provides sustainable support for a wide palette of programs throughout the year," she said. "Our public schools are preparing the next generation of SRS employees - engineers, technicians and scientists.

Having SRNS as a partner, both in terms of financial support and their readership on our board of directors, provides the support we need to help prepare that workforce."

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com or at 644-2391.