The Mississippi Power Education Foundation (MPEF) recently awarded eight grants totaling nearly $24,000 to educational institutions and teachers throughout its southeast Mississippi service area.

A $5,000 grant was awarded to the E.H. Keys Technology Center in Ocean Springs for its “E.H. Keys Solar Car Project,” whose goal is to spark student interest and promote school attendance.

Gulfport’s Lynn Meadows Discovery Center will use its $6,000 grant to fund research into developing a partnership between informal and formal learning environments. Teachers will work with LMDC staff, university instructors and master teachers to discover many of the available resource connections between the museum and the classroom.

A $5,000 grant was awarded to Gaston Point Elementary in Gulfport to equip the “Creation Station,” a life-skills lab that will be available to all students in grades 1-5, including the special needs population. Students will practice home safety as they learn math, reading and science through hands-on activities.

North Bay Elementary in Bay St. Louis received $1,500 for the “Printed Images/Self Images” project, designed to inspire student/teacher creativity through images and words. Participants will learn the art of printmaking and how to use a press, focusing on how to share their own experiences through art and writing.

Gulfport’s Central Elementary School’s “Shrek 2 – Singing, Harmony, Rhythm, Educating Kids Too!” program will be funded by a $1,921 grant. The award will be used to build on the success of another MPEF funded project, “Music Brings Us Together,” which uses the elements of music to enhance the “Project Read” instruction already going on in the reading classrooms. Students will be actively engaged in learning and applying concepts and frameworks taught through the “Project Read” program as well as the state reading benchmarks and music competencies.

St. Martin High School in Ocean Springs received $1,600 for “Family Time, Movie Time, Math Time.” The project will use recorded advanced math lessons to involve students’ families in learning as well as reduce intimidation of being in an advanced math class.

Wesley House Day Care Center in Meridian received a $2,000 grant for “!Yo entendo, tu entendes!” --- “I learn, You learn!” The funds will provide educational tools to assist Hispanic toddlers and pre-school children in adapting to a classroom environment and assist in bilingual interpretation.

West Jones Elementary in Laurel was awarded $723 for a “Book an Adventure” program, which is designed to spark children’s interest in reading and assist them with pre-reading skills.

The Mississippi Power Education Foundation makes grants several times each year to schools, school systems and educational institutions in southeast Mississippi. Since 1984, Mississippi Power Company has supported excellence in education throughout its service area by awarding more than $3 million in grants to teachers, schools, school systems and educational projects through its foundations.