Frankfort, KY – AEP Teacher Vision Grants from Kentucky Power will enable several local educators to improve student learning and achievement in their classrooms. The grants were awarded recently based on funding applications from teachers working in Kentucky Power’s service territory.

Steven Branim, a teacher at Russell Middle School in Greenup, was awarded a $500 grant to fund a “LEGO League” program at the school. The program is expected to benefit about 120 students in sixth through eighth grades as they learn about robotics using computer software, basic engineering/design processes and actual robot construction techniques.

Gwen Bussey, a teacher at Wurtland Middle and McKell Middle Schools in Greenup County was awarded $500 to institute an alternative energy source program at the schools. Bussey will employ a wind turbine to demonstrate the potential of alternative energy and use hands-on teaching techniques to evaluate and demonstrate the potential of wind power. In doing so, she will introduce her students to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) principles to measure, record and evaluate data produced by the wind turbine. Bussey will focus her program on about 140 students in sixth to eighth grades.

Hans Doderer, a teacher at Paintsville High School, was awarded $500 to introduce an energy analyzation and consumption program for students in sixth to eighth grades. Doderer will teach students about different forms of energy and energy sources and use a demonstration unit to illustrate energy consumption differences between incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs. His program is expected to reach approximately 95 students.

Bob Pulliam, a teacher at Boyd County Middle School in Ashland, was awarded a $500 grant to introduce a program called “Alternative Energy Cycle of Life: Fueling Life Cycles with Solar Energy.” Through the program, students will incorporate photovoltaic cells to convert radiant energy into electrical energy. The energy will then be stored as chemical energy in 12-volt, deep cycle batteries. The batteries will be used to power lighting, pumps and filters for an aquarium, thus sustaining an aquatic ecosystem. Pulliam plans to reach approximately 125 sixth to eighth grade students with his program.

The AEP Teacher Vision Grant program was launched in 2003 to provide aid ranging from $100 to $500 to classroom teachers.  “These grants are designed to reward the talents and creativity of Pre-K through grade 12 educators devoted to motivating youth to think creatively, to step into leadership roles and to address the challenges of the future,” said Ronn Robinson, communications manager for Kentucky Power.

Educators who live or teach in the AEP/Kentucky Power service area or in communities with major AEP facilities are eligible to apply for the mini-grants.  Priority is given to educators who have attended AEP Workshops for Educators, National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project training or who are affiliated with an AEP school-business partnership.  Projects that have an academic focus and a goal of improving student achievement are eligible for consideration.  AEP has a special interest in science, mathematics, technology, electrical safety and the balanced study of energy and the environment. 

For more information on the AEP Teacher Vision Grant program and other AEP education initiatives, see www.aep.com/go/education.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. (or operating unit boilerplate)

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