Tomorrow’s engineers and mathematicians need only a “spark” to get their imaginations and careers headed in the right direction.

With support from PPL Corporation, PBS39 will empower five Lehigh Valley area educators to provide the inspiration and stimulation students need with $1,000 awards for their school.

PPL Empowering Educators is a grant program designed to help elementary and middle school teachers provide hands-on learning to students, making science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) interesting and fun.

In early December, 15 grants in the amount of $1,000 will be awarded to educators in the 29 Pennsylvania counties served by PPL, with five awarded locally.

Since the program’s inception in 2003, PPL has awarded more than $165,000 for projects in 93 schools throughout the PPL service area.

Teacher-led student teams will enter design ideas for STEM-related educational projects, such as science fairs, energy conservation projects, renewable energy demonstrations, and math competitions.

Entries will be judged on: project proposal, school need, and potential overall impact.

Educational teams from PBS39, WITF (Harrisburg), and WVIA (Pittston) will each select five winning ideas.

Educators of students in kindergarten through grade eight are encouraged to apply.

Entries are available via online applications through Oct. 31. Awards will be announced on Dec. 2.

Students are required to prepare a 2-3 minute presentation reflecting on their experience and the impact the project had on the community.

Video presentations are encouraged.

Projects must be completed by April 15, 2017, with a final report submitted to the applicant’s local station by May 6, 2017.

Teams will celebrate their success during ceremonies in May 2017, at their local public television stations.