School to receive funding as part of Lieutenant Governors' STEM Scholarship Program

BARDSTOWN, Ky. (May 7, 2026) - Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman has announced that Bardstown's Old Kentucky Home Middle School is an award recipient of the 2026 National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) Lieutenant Governors' STEM Scholarship Program. NLGA will award the school $1,000 as part of a national call for applications for funding STEM programming and curriculum in schools.

"I visited Old Kentucky Home Middle School last year and saw how their hands-on STEM learning gives students the chance to build problem-solving skills, think creatively and analytically, and explore future careers in STEM fields," said Lt. Gov. Coleman. "As NLGA chair-elect, I am excited to see how Old Kentucky Home Middle School will continue their 'Bourbon City Biology' program with this additional funding from NLGA."

Old Kentucky Home Middle School will use this funding to continue their community partnership with a local, artificial anaerobic digester company. Through the production of bourbon, distilleries generate "bio waste" that is then used by the company to generate renewable natural gas and organic fertilizer. A local farm uses that generated fertilizer to grow corn and sells that corn to be used by the distilleries to produce bourbon, creating a cycle of use for bio waste. Students will visit each of these facilities to learn about the environmental, economic and local positive and negative impacts of each of these processes, using skills in biology, math and the scientific method.

NLGA opened the application period for the STEM Scholarship Program in January 2026. The application process was competitive, with NLGA receiving 135 requests for STEM funding from schools in 27 states and territories. Twelve schools in 12 states and territories were awarded $500 to $1,000 for STEM-related expenses.

"As the seconds-in-command in state and territorial government, lieutenant governors are uniquely poised to lead on STEM education," said NLGA Executive Director Kellie Rittershausen. "By supporting STEM-related activities in schools across the country for the fifth year in a row, NLGA is encouraging a long-term interest and passion in STEM in America's youth."

The Scholarship Program is administered by NLGA, the nonpartisan, nonprofit association for the nation's seconds-in-command, and sponsored by ACT, the education and career readiness nonprofit.

Public and private schools serving pre-K-12th grade students in all 50 states and five U.S. territories were invited to apply for funding to support STEM-related activities, programming, curriculum, equipment and other expenses.

Additional information on the STEM Scholarship Program can be found at https://nlga.us/stem-scholarship-program/.

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