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

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