Last month over 100 educators were celebrated at the annual Bright Ideas luncheon. The Bright Ideas program was started by the North Carolina Electric Cooperatives 30 years ago with each of the state’s 26 local electric cooperatives selecting winners from across our 100 counties each year. Since the program’s inception, $16 million in Bright Ideas grants have been awarded to fund over 15,000 innovative learning projects, benefiting 4 million kids.
Several of the educators who received funds this year have been awardees in the past, including Whitney Williams and Christopher Hicks. Williams initially applied for a Bright Ideas grant in 2020 and has since received three grants that have been used to support her school’s outdoor classroom featuring a garden and nature trail. Hicks has received nine grants which he’s utilized along with partnerships with local business for multiple projects including establishing a vineyard where students can learn how to grow, harvest and process grapes into a usable product as well as learn what varieties do well in their region.
Innovative teaching practices such as these benefit both students and educators in various ways. For educators, the ability to implement creative teaching practices can increase job satisfaction by allowing them to feel empowered and fulfilled in their roles while also strengthening connections with students. Building those connections with educators and learning in creative ways can help students to be more engaged and allow them to explore and develop a variety of skills. Maybe most importantly, innovation breeds hope. Innovative teaching practices can greatly shape what students see as possible for their future.
Education as a whole is meant to give students the tools they need for that future. For our education system to be successful, we have to give students opportunities to imagine the endless possibilities before them and the resources necessary for them thrive. This can’t happen through continued disinvestment. North Carolina’s public schools serve the vast majority of children and families in our state, so if we want to look at the future of North Carolina we can simply look at our local public schools. Unfortunately, far too many of our districts have to struggle to meet the needs of their students. Teacher vacancies, lack of support staff and facilities issues — all of which can be attributed to disinvestment — make it harder for schools to adequately serve students.
In this season of optimism, I encourage you to imagine local public schools in North Carolina without those obstacles. With an educator workforce that is well-prepared, diverse and respected as professionals; the resources to meet every family’s needs; and access to unique and exciting learning opportunities, our local public schools can help every child in North Carolina envision a successful future, and prepare them to achieve those futures within flourishing communities. This holiday season the Public School Forum team is filled with hope for what’s possible for North Carolina’s children. Together, we can give them the future they deserve.
Leave a Reply