FPL funds $42,000 in grants to 46 teacher energy projects

Projects like solar-powered ovens, water-powered cars and wind generators are being funded to teach Florida's students about STEM education

News provided by

Florida Power & Light Company

Feb 19, 2015, 01:00 ET

JUNO BEACH, Fla., Feb. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Grants worth $42,000 have been awarded for classroom energy and engineering projects from Florida Power & Light Company's (FPL) Teacher Grant Program. The 46 grants will go to Florida educators teaching students about energy and engineering.

Since 2010, the program has financed a variety of science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and energy projects, with grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 per project. Since its inception, the program has awarded $175,000 to 175 Florida teachers.

"At FPL, we are working together with the communities we serve to make Florida an even better place to raise a family and do business," said Pamela Rauch, vice president of development and external affairs for FPL.

"For the past five years, FPL has been committed to enriching STEM education experiences, and continues to invest in science and math programs for our students. STEM programs prepare today's students for exciting and well-paid jobs in the future – and these are the future employees that FPL will be looking for."

Examples of Winning Grants

Solar s'mores cooking oven
Solar cars
Water hydrolysis
Hydroelectric power
Solar chargers
Solar-powered robots aka "sunbots"

Winning Teachers by County

BREVARD

Ocean Breeze Elementary School – Kate Abroguena
Edgewood Junior/Senior High School – Melina Maier
Ralph Williams Elementary School – Wendy Sheldon
Southwest Middle School – Stephen Portz
Hans Christian Andersen Elementary School – Terri Tomassi

BROWARD

New River Middle School – Barbara J. Rapoza
Floranada Elementary School – Elyse Friedman Brunt
Renaissance Charter School at Cooper City – Joanna Svezzese
Western High School – Magda Murphy Bozkurt
Panther Run Elementary School– Nicole Williams Roulhac
Deerfield Park Elementary School – Racquel Herring
Palmview Elementary School – Sheri Dominguez

CHARLOTTE

Deep Creek Elementary School – Alicen Rhodes
Sallie Jones Elementary School – Melinda Stroup

COLLIER

Golden Gate High School – Ryan McQuade
Palmetto Ridge High School – Soshana Yarin

FLAGLER

Belle Terre Elementary School– Edward Wolff
Palencia Elementary School – Jamie Wardley

INDIAN RIVER

Osceola Magnet School– Ashley Darnell
Sebastian Charter Junior High School – Cathleen Tinder

LEE

Dunbar High School - David Paulis and Karen Arnold
Edison Park Creative and Expressive Arts School – Kimberly Clements
Oasis Charter Middle School – Lori McLain

MANATEE

James Tillman Elementary School – Karen Cobb

MIAMI-DADE

Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart – Susy Chu
Miami-Dade County Public School Department of Mathematics and Science – Mary Tweedy, Dane Jaber, Daniel Gangeri, and Noreyda Casanas
Rockway Middle School – Rosa M. Rengifo
Biscayne Nature Center for Environment Education – Julien Zaragoza
Christopher Columbus High School – Raul Mederos
Hialeah Senior High School – William Harrington

PALM BEACH

Imagine Chancellor School – Carolyn Garreau Jones
Saint Andrews School – Daniel Dreyfuss
Suncoast Community High School – Erich Landstrom
Forest Hill High School – Joan Joselyn
Spanish River High School – Mary Fish
Elbridge Gale Elementary School – Emily Sagovac

SARASOTA

Imagine School at North Port – Gary Biggs
Gocio Elementary School – Kelly Griffith

SAINT LUCIE

Port St. Lucie High School – Karen A. Cloutier

VOLUSIA

Burns Science & Technology Charter School – Barbara Hawes
Sugar Mill Elementary School – Beth Dobberstein
Pierson Elementary School – Rowann Hoy

Grant Selection Details
The awards are based on the proposed budget and number of students the project will benefit. Award recipients are selected by the National Education Energy Development project (NEED), a nonprofit organization working with energy companies and agencies to bring balanced energy curriculum and training to the nation's classrooms.

Projects are judged according to stated goals, energy content, creativity and plans for budget and evaluation. The awards come from the NextEra Energy Foundation, which is funded by shareholders of FPL's parent company, NextEra Energy, Inc., the nation's largest producer of renewable energy from the wind and the sun.

Beyond the grant program, FPL has also trained almost 500 teachers on the importance of solar education, donated solar installations to over 100 schools and sponsored 50 robotics teams. Nearly 100,000 students annually are impacted by FPL's traveling school assembly program, which delivers important messages about energy conservation to make the world a better place.

Completed projects may be featured on FPL's Solar Station website at www.FPL.com/solarstations.

Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the third-largest electric utility in the United States, serving approximately 4.7 million customer accounts across nearly half of the state of Florida. As of year-end 2013, FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 25 percent lower than the national average and the lowest in Florida among reporting utilities. FPL's service reliability is better than 99.98 percent, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among utilities nationwide. The company was recognized in 2014 as the most trusted U.S. electric utility by Cogent Reports, and has earned the national ServiceOne Award for outstanding customer service for an unprecedented 10 consecutive years. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,900 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE). For more information, visit www.FPL.com.

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SOURCE Florida Power & Light Company