Teachers – 2026 Bright Ideas will become available on April 1. The early bird deadline is August 15. The final deadline is September 15. Stay tuned for full details.
The winners for the 2025/2026 Bright Ideas Teacher grants are:
| Morgan Acree, Manning Elementary, Roanoke Rapids | Brick City STEM Challenge |
| Shane Dongilli, KIPP GCP | Owl Pellets for Food Webs |
| Sydney Smith, Roanoke Rapids Early College | StageCrafted: Shakespeare meets STEM |
| Susan Brown, Central Middle School, Gatesville | The Power of your Voice |
| Lori Lolies, Gatesville Elementary | Project SMART: Building Math & Science Brillance |
| Hailey Hedgepeth, Gatesville Elementary | Empowering Student Engagement & Problem-Solving Through Building Thinking Classrooms |
| Jessica Lassiter, Gatesville Elementary | Making Math and Science Matter by Bringing It to the Big Screen |
The grant program offers teachers the opportunity to apply for Bright Ideas education grants from Roanoke Cooperative (RC). Your co-op is providing teacher grants of up to $2,000 to bring creative learning projects to life and enhance educational experiences for local students. Teachers can apply online at www.ncbrightideas.com. Teachers in Bertie, Chowan, Gates, Halifax, Hertford, Northampton, and Perquimans counties are eligible to apply. To determine which electric co-op is offering a Bright Ideas grant in your district, click here.
Click here for tips for applying!
RC’s Bright Ideas grants will go to local teachers in the 2025-2026 school year. Funding is available for K-12 classroom projects in all curriculum areas including art, history, math, reading, science and technology. Educators can apply as individuals or as a team and must include a budget, project goals, implementation plan and description of how the project will engage students and enhance their success.
RC has awarded more than 100 Bright Ideas grants since 1994, totaling nearly $250,000.00. Since the program began in 1994, educators statewide have received more than $15 million in Bright Ideas grant funding and more than 3.5 million North Carolina students have participated in 14,200 Bright Ideas-funded projects across the state.
The judges that are selected to review the applications are located throughout the cooperative’s service area and include educators and community leaders.
For more information about the grant program, email brightideas@roanokecooperative.com or call (252) 209-2236 or (800) 433-2236, ext. 272.