What’s Right With Our Schools: Stone Creek Elementary

ROSSVILLE, Ga. (WDEF) — Energy efficiency is the name of the game at Stone Creek Elementary in Rossville.  Their commitment to saving electricity recently earned the school a $25,000 grant.  Their bright ideas are a shining example of what’s right with our schools. 

  Stone Creek Elementary is celebrating a major win, not just for their school, but for the environment, too. The campus was awarded a $25,000 grant through the School Uplift Program, funded by the Tennessee Valley Authority and local partner EPB.

  Senior Program Manager TVA Senior Program Manager Tom Irwin explains, “School by doing shut down and getting the kids involved they saved over $7000 annually on their utility bill. So just being aware and trying to go after some of that waste in your building can really pay off.”

  The program rewards schools that take active steps to save energy and improve learning environments. 

  David Vanzant is a Key Customer Engineer with EPB.

  He chips in, “It’s just helping them be more aware of all the different ways they interact with energy on a daily basis, and then also to kind of put some accountability and responsibility in their hands as well. So, the daily shut down list being able to have the students be the ones to go around and help make sure TVs are off and lights are off, but then hopefully those are habits that translate back into the home to whenever they leave a room turning off the TV. They’re turning off the lights. All the way up to helping engage the parents in the broader community with those same habits.

  Fifth grade teacher Abby Cook is understandably excited.

  She concludes, “The grant that we’re getting is for the learning environment, and so what we’re going to get to do with that grant is get a book vending machine, which is really exciting. So, it’s just a way that we can reward students who are doing well and they’ll get a token, and they’ll be able to get a book that’s brand new, it’s theirs,  that they get to take home, and so we’ll have some books to start with that, and then we’re also going to resurface our blacktop and get a paint kit so that we can paint games on our blacktop. Right now, it’s just plain, but we wanted to be able to like make that more educational and useful for teachers and students.”