Sparklight awards $2,500 STEM grant for new Leland–Stoneville initiative
Pictured with Sparklight representatives are Lora Delhom, Leland High School Principal Ranald Johnson, Leland Mayor John Lee, Leland Public School District Superintendent Rev. Jessie King, Leland Optimist Club President Hardie Frankl and Director of Curriculum and Testing Susie Williams. The community members accepted a $2,500 Dream Bigger STEM grant at Leland High School in Leland. The grant will fund the Leland–Stoneville Rocketry Lab.
A new hands-on science initiative designed to unite the Leland and Stoneville communities is preparing to take flight after Sparklight awarded a $2,500 STEM grant through its Dream Bigger contest to support the Leland–Stoneville Rocketry Lab.
The grant was presented April 30 at Leland High School, where representatives from Sparklight joined members of the Leland Optimist Club, Leland School District and community leaders for a check presentation and media event.
The award comes as Sparklight expands its presence in the Mississippi Delta, recently introducing a new mobile service for internet customers that offers prepaid plans and expanded connectivity options for households across the region.
The funding will be used to purchase equipment for a student rocketry lab, where participants will design, build and launch model rockets while learning core engineering and physics principles.
The initiative will serve students ages eight to fifteen across public, private and homeschool settings in Leland and Stoneville. Organizers say the goal is to expand access to science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) education while bridging the two communities through a shared learning experience.
“We’re grateful for Sparklight’s support in bringing this vision to life,” said Lora Delhom, designer and director of the Leland–Stoneville Rocketry Lab for the Leland Optimist Club. “We are right next door to one of the most significant research corridors in the country, and this program connects our students — public, private and homeschool — directly to that legacy. When these rockets rise, the town rises with them.”
Students will move through the engineering design process — asking questions, imagining solutions, planning, creating, testing and improving — while collecting flight data. Organizers said the program emphasizes collaboration across school types and backgrounds.
The initiative draws inspiration from nearby research led by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in partnership with Mississippi State University in Stoneville, often referred to locally as the “Mississippi Model.”
The program will culminate in a public community launch and STEM showcase after fall harvest on a nearby field in Stoneville, bringing families together to celebrate student work.
