Grant helps school teach about alternative energy

The overcast sky pushed Benjamin Middle School's Solar Celebration inside Tuesday, but it didn't darken officials' enthusiasm about a recently installed solar panel aimed at educating students on alternative energy sources.

"We are trying to have students experience, in a relevant way, how alternative energy can be used," Benjamin District 25 Superintendent Phil Ehrhardt said.

The school was awarded a $10,000 grant this summer through the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. Fifty-three of the grants have been awarded since 2006.

The panel will serve as an educational tool for students, who already have a solar energy segment in their science curriculum. Classes will track the energy generated by the panel on a Web site, which will be incorporated into daily lessons.

Sixth-grade teacher Jim Allard said it will help students learn about environmental issues.

"A lot of things we are teaching and trying to show gives them real-life applications of how using solar power can help our atmosphere," he said. "We talk about the problem all the time. This shows us one of the solutions."

Science teacher Chris Hlinak said the school had wanted to install a solar panel years ago but could never find money for it. The grant, however, changed things. Contractors began work in August and completed the installation in early October.

Benjamin Principal Joe Salmieri led the assembly Tuesday, which included all students and showed videos promoting solar energy.

"We need to start educating children at this age," he said. "We have got to give them the education to understand the challenges they will be facing."

And Ehrhardt said the district has not finished in its goal of promoting alternative energy. He said he hopes to find grants to ultimately install a wind turbine at the school, which will be used to educate students about yet another source.

"We're going to teach kids how to be future citizens," he said. "We try to look at ways that are unique and really forward-thinking to help students be better prepared."