In December, Tri-County EMC’s Community Outreach Director Anna Smith, along with several coworkers, made their annual visit to distribute checks to Bright Ideas Grant winners in Baldwin County.
Baldwin County had a record-setting nine educators who were awarded 2025 Bright Ideas Grants. This year, Tri-County EMC received approximately 60 applications districtwide, with Baldwin teachers submitting the majority.
These grants support innovative, classroom-centered projects designed to spark creativity, deepen hands-on learning, and expand opportunities for students across all grade levels.
“This is one of the best weeks of the year for us,” said Smith.
“We get to visit schools, surprise teachers, and see their excitement when innovative ideas come to life.”
Smith also noted the growth of projects that center student voice and engagement such as flexible seating, hands-on learning spaces, and creative media production.
“Cooking classes, sensory spaces, podcasting … teachers are finding incredible ways to help kids learn beyond the desk,” she said.
Nick Geeker will establish a professional-grade radio and podcasting studio, The Brave Wave, at Oak Hill Middle School, giving students the chance to write, produce, and publish original audio content across multiple subjects. Students will learn industry-standard equipment, collaborate on story-driven projects, and build technical portfolios. Smith stated that podcasting is becoming “really big,” and highlighted this project as one of the year’s standout ideas.
Kamina Early will establish a Splash Lab at the Early Learning Center.
Designed as a wet-room indoor learning lab, this space will allow Pre-K students to explore math, writing, and scientific discovery through water play, sensory learning, measuring, journaling, and hands-on experimentation. The lab transforms unused rooms into immersive, schoolwide learning environments.
Mary Ashley McCue’s project, at Lakeview Primary, is titled The Leader Hive: Little Coders with Big Ideas and will be using Bee-Bot robots to guide first graders to explore coding, leadership, problem-solving, and collaboration while integrating the 7 Habits of Happy Kids. Students will create story maps, math missions, and leadership challenges that strengthen communication and technology skills. Building on the Early Learning Center’s Golden Radish award–winning Farm to School work, Tanya Holme’s project expands outdoor learning spaces and adds indoor cooking equipment so students can grow, harvest, prepare, and taste fresh foods from the school garden. The project supports nutrition education, hands-on science, and social-emotional learning.
Brenda Brown, at Lakeview Primary, will expand the Makerspace to provide 485 K–2 students with STEAMrich opportunities, including engineering kits, art supplies, magnetic building sets, and coding tools.
Students will build, design, collaborate, and solve real-world challenges while developing creativity and critical thinking.
Deanna Blount, of Lakeview Primary’s Montessori Program, will expand the Montessori classroom’s Toniebox audio learning system, giving students access to an extensive library of stories, songs, and nonfiction learning content.
The tool supports literacy development, listening comprehension, and independent choice-making for approximately 60 young learners.
Crystal Beard’s nutrition- focused project introduces child-friendly cooking experiences using fresh produce from the school garden at the Early learning Center. Students will participate in healthy meal preparation using new convection ovens, kid-safe utensils, and chef attire, while also exploring health, safety, and social-emotional books connected to food and wellbeing.
Amanda Cheek’s project transforms a classroom at Lakeview Primary into a sensory- responsive learning environment, supporting students with diverse learning needs through wobble stools, bean bags, standing desks, floor cushions, and quiet sensory areas. The flexible seating options will help reduce anxiety, increase focus, and give students control over their learning environment.
Sharon Reeves, at Oak Hill Middle School, will use her grant to continue work in biotechnology and agricultural science, enhancing hands-on learning experiences connected to environmental science, sustainability, and student-centered exploration.
Tri-County EMC’s Bright Ideas program funded 36 grants across the region, with Baldwin earning one of the largest shares. Smith noted that teachers complete their applications in about 20 minutes, making it one of the most accessible grant opportunities available to educators.
Bright Ideas are changing the lives of Baldwin students every single day and these projects will come to life in the months ahead.
— Contributed