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South Plains EC News

Innovative Classrooms Making Positive Impacts

Lisa Scott is a second grade teacher at Shallowater Intermediate School and is a 2017-2018 Operation Round Up Mini-Grant recipient. Scott purchased a variety of active, flexible seating materials with the mini-grant.

“Research shows that any type of movement increases blood flow and the amount of oxygen going to the brain,” Scott said. “The increase in oxygen improves performance on tasks. I have been fortunate enough to witness this first hand in my classroom.”

Scott said she purchased five Kore Wobble Chairs, five yoga ball chairs and five stools with the mini-grant. This contemporary seating allows her students the freedom to move in a wide range of motion without ever leaving their desks.

“These seats have had an immediate impact on my classroom,” Scott said. “There are fewer students out of their seats, which means they are spending more time on task and learning.”

Thanks, South Plains Electric Cooperative!

The Operation Round Up Board of Directors initiated a program offering small, $500 grants to teachers. Grants were available to K-12 teachers in reading or social studies for the 2017-2018 school year. Operation Round Up receives contributions from SPEC members whose monthly electric bills are automatically rounded up to the next dollar. The extra change, averaging only $6 per year, funds projects like the teacher mini-grants, scholarships and much more.

Operation Round Up was established in 1993 to help communities and individuals needing a hand up, not a hand out. The program’s tagline, “neighbors helping neighbors,” is at the heart of why South Plains Electric Cooperative exists.

Ten teacher mini-grants were awarded for the 2017-2018 school year. The recipients were: Amanda Campbell, Abernathy ISD; Ollie Hart, Abernathy ISD; Margaret Hernandez, Cotton Center ISD; Cynthia Walden, Cotton Center ISD; Ida Cisneros, Frenship ISD; Ashley Teague, Frenship ISD; Laura Cueto, Lubbock-Cooper ISD; Bruce Lange, Lubbock-Cooper ISD; Kerri Tosi, Lubbock-Cooper ISD; and Lisa Scott, Shallowater ISD.

If all of our meters were enrolled in Operation Round Up, we would have over $340,000 a year to give back to our local communities. If you’re not already enrolled, you can sign up for Operation Round Up online or by calling 806.775.7766. You may also sign up by checking the Operation Round Up box on your monthly bill.