MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — Mt. Juliet Elementary School in Wilson County is finishing the school year with a new $25,000 grant after placing in the top 10 schools across 7 states in a year-long energy conservation program.
The school participated in School Uplift, a program put together by TVA and Middle Tennessee Electric, which focused on teaching students ways to reduce power and utility usage.
121 schools took part in the program this year.
"I found out last April that this program was available, and this grant opportunity was something that we'd like to get involved in," said Kelli Hall, a teacher at Mt. Juliet Elementary who also served as the group's Energy Coach.
Hall taught students in her gifted classes the program's lessons, then those fifth graders passed along what they learned to younger students.
"We held assemblies, morning announcements, and we also put out posters," said J.J., a fifth-grade student at Mt. Juliet Elementary.
The competition tracked how much outreach students completed throughout the year to determine where it placed in the program.
"The amount of activities that we did, the student involvement, we were always school-wide involved," Hall said.
Students learned lessons like unplugging Chromebooks when fully charged, turning off lights when leaving a room, and taking shorter showers to conserve water.
As students became more mindful about reducing power use, the school's electric bills went down.
Mt. Juliet Elementary's top 10 finish earned the school $25,000, which leaders plan to put toward some fun upgrades on campus.
Plans include adding a football field, a soccer field, gaga ball, 9 square, and an outdoor space for classes and lunch.
For the students involved, the experience was about more than just winning some prize money.
"I felt very proud, and it's a great opportunity to be a leader," said Zion, a fifth-grade student.
This story was reported on-air by Robb Coles and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Coles verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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