Teachers may apply for SRNS mini-grants

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has opened its application process for its 2012 Innovative Teaching mini grant program, which assists area public elementary and middle school teachers in funding lesson plans related to the STEM disciplines - science, technology, engineering and math.

Mini grants in the amounts of $500, $750 or $1,000 are awarded each year to help teachers purchase classroom supplies and equipment in their STEM-relate classes.

The goal for this year is to award $50,000 total to CSRA classrooms, according to SRNS Mini Grant coordinator Gladys Moore.

The mini grant program has been serving schools in the CSRA - Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Edgefield, Columbia and Richmond counties - for more than 20 years, Moore said.

"We hope that it will enhance the school's abilities in the STEM areas that we would like to promote, and it's a way that (the Savannah River Site) can give back to the community and one of the most important phases of life, and that is education," Moore said.

The $500 mini grants are intended to allow teachers to purchase basic supplies and materials for use in a single classroom, the $750 mini grants are intended for teachers to enhance technology programs, and the $1,000 mini grants are intended for teachers to buy any kind of equipment that could be used by more than one grade, or by the entire school, Moore said.

Eligible schools received applications in recent weeks, and teachers who are interested in submitting a proposal for a mini grant can get more information by contacting their school principal.

Applications can also be found online through www.srs.gov or by contacting Gladys Moore at 952-9450.

The deadline to submit grant proposals is March 2. Applications can be mailed to Gladys Moore at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Building 730-1B, Room 2151, Aiken, SC 29808.

Grant winners, as well as all of those who submit proposals, will be honored at a ceremony in April.

Anna Dolianitis is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. She covers the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site, as well as court and legal matters affecting Aiken County. She has been with the Aiken Standard since August 2010.