LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company have reached nearly 78,000 elementary- and middle-school students through the companies' Children's Energy Education Program in just one year's time.
The energy education program, which provides professional development and innovative materials to K-8 teachers, helps educators use creative ways to incorporate theatre, games, experiments and other fun interactive initiatives into their science curriculum. Materials help educators teach science concepts such as force, motion, light, sound, heat, among other things.
The companies partnered with the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project, a nonprofit education association, to develop curriculum targeted for specific school districts. All materials correlate with the Kentucky Core Content and the National Science Education Standards.
"It's essential our students learn the importance of science and for them to see how it applies in their everyday lives outside of school," said former school teacher and current LG&E and KU Energy Efficiency Education Program Manager Kelly Couch. "The increased education and communication with our youngest customers will continue to be a powerful tool to create awareness, advocacy and behavior change as it relates to energy efficiency."
Teachers are already getting in on the act. Since the program began last year, 67 percent of schools in the LG&E and KU service territory have taken advantage of the training opportunities, with more than 1,300 teachers participating. That means the training has affected nearly 78,000 elementary and middle school students.
The Children's Energy Education Program is provided at no cost to all public, non-public and independent elementary and middle school teachers who receive electric utility service from LG&E or KU.
Teachers interested in participating should attend one of the Kentucky Energy Workshops. The first training opportunity for teachers is Oct. 27 in Grand Rivers, Ky. A full schedule of workshops is available at www.lge-ku.com/ed.
Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies, are regulated utilities that serve a total of 1.2 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 321,000 natural gas and 397,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 543,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. More information is available at www.lge-ku.com and www.pplweb.com.
