Three local schools will create programs supporting the environment, active living and solidarity among students thanks to grants that reward school officials for out-of-the-box thinking.

The Consortium for Public Education has announced that Greensburg Salem Middle School, Forbes Road Career and Technical Center in Monroeville, and Ben Fairless Elementary School in Braddock were three of 14 schools to receive funding through the Great Ideas Grant program this fall. The awards, which honor proposals designed to supplement classroom lessons with real-life experiences, will grant about $35,000 to the 14 winning schools that will benefit an estimated 4,600 students throughout the region.

The consortium, a fundraising-supported nonprofit that boosts public schools, works with 25 southwestern Pennsylvania school districts.

An idea submitted by Greensburg Salem Middle School to create a Buddies Club for students was among the most well-received proposals, according to the consortium's review committee. The Buddies Club will pair highly regarded students in grades six through eight with students with disabilities to help them progress academically and socially and to discourage bullying. The school will receive $1,302 for the program for 120 students.

"The Greensburg Salem proposal was a favorite among our review committee members," said program coordinator Patti Hoke in a news release. "It was one of a significant number of entries that captured the spirit of our awards."

Woodland Hills School Districts' Ben Fairless will receive $1,530 to create The Heart of the Community, a service organization intended to develop student and community programs to encourage greater involvement in the school. Among the ideas for programs are talent shows to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, mentoring, anti-bullying programs and fall festivals and community events. The organization will benefit the more than 300 students in kindergarten through sixth grade, focusing on students in higher grades.

With two award-winning submissions, the Forbes Road Career Training Center will receive $4,770 to construct a greenhouse and $4,978 for a walking trail. Students in landscape and design, building and construction, HVAC, electrical technology and culinary arts programs will work together to build and equip the greenhouse, as well as in selecting appropriate plants for the culinary program to use in dishes. The walking trail will be created by students in the physical education, landscaping/building, construction and commercial arts programs to build the trail, install fitness stations and create signs. Construction of the greenhouse is expected to directly involve 250 students, and construction and planning for the trail will impact about 450 students.

"This seems to be the best type of project that we have in the school because it's using real-life work experience," said Paul Balint, Forbes Road's director of vocational education. "... If they're in construction, they're going to have to work together with people in masonry and electrical, so this gives them that experience."