COLUMBIA, Tenn. — Maury County Public Schools is excited to announce that Riverside Elementary School and Columbia Central High School are each recipients of $5,000 STEM grants from The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Inc., a TVA retiree organization. The STEM grant program is designed to help K–12 schools deliver engaging STEM learning by funding projects that incorporate science, technology, engineering and math, with preference given to proposals that align with TVA’s priority areas — environment, energy, economic and career development, and community problem solving.

“Inspiring young people to pursue careers in STEM fields is so important,” said TVA President and CEO, Don Moul. “A workforce with specialized skills means more economic opportunities for people across our seven-state region and more opportunities for our students to achieve high-paying jobs that will support their families and make their communities a better place to live when they grow up.”

The competitive STEM classroom award program is operated in partnership with the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, managed by the Battelle organization. The program received 528 applications, and 339 were selected for funding. Since 2018, TVA/BVI has provided over $9 million in STEM grants supporting over 845,000 students.

“TVA’s STEM Awards give our teachers the ability to bring real-world, hands-on science and technology experiences to the classroom,” said Lisa Ventura, Superintendent of Maury County Public Schools. “We are thrilled that both Riverside Elementary School and Columbia Central High School have secured grants, which will directly benefit our students and help prepare them for future STEM opportunities.”

Riverside Elementary School will use funding to acquire the hand2mind STEM 3D Coding and Robotics Cart, a comprehensive, mobile solution designed to bring hands-on STEM learning directly into the classroom and beyond. This all-in-one cart will serve as a dynamic learning hub for students in PreK through 4^th grade, offering access to advanced coding tools, robotics kits, and a 3D printing system.

“I absolutely love teaching STEM, while watching every student explore, learn and create things,” said Romannita Smith, teacher at Riverside Elementary. “Technology is the future and being able to give access to a high-quality, hands-on, STEM learning environment, brings me great joy,” said Smith.

Columbia Central High School (CHS) plans to expand students’ knowledge of virtual reality by highlighting Career, Career, and Technical Education (CTE) classes to middle school students who may not be aware of the possibilities in the field.

“This grant empowers programs we offer by continuing to foster thinking, innovation, and real-world problem-solving,” said John Orman, media teacher at Columbia Central High School. “Emerging technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality can be challenging to articulate to potential sponsors. We appreciate TVA’s commitment to supporting STEM initiatives that cultivate 21st-century skills.”

Read more about the TVA STEM Awards and view the full list of 2025 recipients.

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