By Jan Gibson

The Daily News

Washington-St. Tammany Electric Cooperative recently announced its 2012 Mini-Grant program, which awards nine $500 grants to K-12 classroom teachers within Washington, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes.

WSTE spokesperson and Manager of Marketing and Economic Development Coylean Schloegel, said, “WSTE recognizes that education goes beyond textbooks and classrooms. We are proud to partner with the educational systems in an effort to further student knowledge. This program along with our other educational programs, such as the WSTE scholarship program, and ‘Newspapers in Education,’ impact the lives of our youth today, which will be the future of tomorrow. WSTE feels this is extremely important to the cooperative and the community.”

Eligibility for the grant program is based on whether a teacher’s school is in an area served by the co-op, or their students reside in such an area. Teachers seeking a grant must submit a one- to two-page proposal that describes what the class will investigate and/or purchase. Following are items that must be included in the proposal:

n A brief description of the teacher’s parish and school

n Name, school address, school phone number and home address of participating teacher(s)

n Grade level(s) and size of participating class(es)

n A brief description of the project

n An estimated project timeline for the school year

n A brief estimate of expenditures, totaling $500

Proposal must be submitted to Robin Drago, WSTE Mini-Grants, P.O. Box 697, Franklinton, LA 70438 by Jan. 11, 2013.

Upon a project’s completion, a final written report is required from mini-grant winners, to include excerpts from student writing. Any or all of these reports may be printed in WSTE’s “Louisiana Country” publication.

The Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives in Baton Rouge will judge all proposals, with emphasis on project feasibility, financial need, submitted budget, plan outline, need of the students and appropriateness of the project for age and grade level.