Bright Ideas grant helps Corinth Elementary put leadership into practice
By Josh P. Crotzer
Each morning, they open doors in the car line, greet parents and make sure each child gets inside safely. They welcome special guests to their school and escort visitors before assemblies. They eat lunch with younger students and help keep the campus clean.
They are the Noble Men of Corinth Elementary School, and they are in the fourth and fifth grades.
“They’ll approach us and ask how they can help,” says Sean Smith, the school’s music teacher, who created the Noble Men program along with art teacher Eric Smalley last year. “They’re seeing the need before we can, and that’s where it gets really exciting.”
Noble Men is a two-year leadership and character development program for Corinth Elementary’s upper elementary boys. Last fall, the project received one of 47 Bright Ideas education grants from Broad River Electric Cooperative.
Smalley, who just completed his 26th year teaching in Cherokee County schools, believes fourth and fifth grades are the ideal period to reinforce values such as awareness, confidence, integrity and service.
“That starlight you get with kids this young—they have all these dreams—can get lost over time,” he says. “We wanted to take kids who already exhibit leadership qualities and give them an outlet while they’re still in that magical time.”
Smith sees the Noble Men as a direct response to the trend of children losing personal connections because of the rise in digital technologies and social media.
“When you have the ability to pull the screen out of the way and put things into a face-to-face context, you’ve made building relationships a priority,” says Smith.
The Noble Men’s weekly gatherings cover etiquette, community service, peer mentoring and guest speakers. They also play a lot of chess.
“We had some nice sets donated, and these boys have just eaten it up,” says Smalley. “It’s been amazing to watch.”
The Noble Men cap each year by delivering speeches to parents and school officials, drawing on their journal entries to express what the program has meant to them.
A $1,000 Bright Ideas grant from Broad River Electric helped fund the program’s most visible elements: Noble Men-branded navy blazers, polo shirts, ties and pocket squares that the students wear when they serve as ushers at assemblies, greet visitors and represent the school at special events.
“To be able to receive that grant at the beginning of the year was a gigantic blessing,” says Smalley. “It started us off on a fantastic year.”
The Noble Men’s presence and service have meant a lot to the school as well.
“Through those boys, we have developed the most intimate relationship with our school community I’ve ever experienced,” says Smalley. “The parents look for them. They feel comfortable knowing those boys are there.”
The program’s impact is spreading. Other schools in the Cherokee County school district, as well as several in Spartanburg, have expressed interest in launching their own chapters.
“We believe in what these kids are capable of,” says Smalley. “We’d love to see everybody do this.”
WANT TO APPLY FOR BRIGHT IDEAS?
Broad River Electric is currently accepting grant applications for 2026 Bright Ideas grants. Certified K–12 teachers in the co-op’s service territory are eligible. The deadline to apply is July 31.
For more information or to apply, visit our Bright Ideas web page.