Heights educators swim with the sharks

CH-UH educators participated in the Heights Schools Foundations's Shark Tank event on Feb. 9.

A group of 20 CH-UH educators “swam with the sharks” on Professional Development Day in order to quality for opportunity grants courtesy of the Heights School Foundation (HSF).

In an event modeled after the reality-TV show “Shark Tank,” HSF offered grants of up to $500 directly to teachers, who had to face a panel of sharks who determined if their proposals were investment-worthy.

Each teacher who submitted a proposal had two minutes to make the pitch, and then 60 seconds of back-and-forth with the panel. In the end, a shark had to make an offer to fund the proposal.

HSF awarded more than $8,400 at the event, and educators from all CH-UH district schools participated. Proposals included grant requests for alternative student seating options (wobble chairs, bicycle desks); STEM items, such as Lego Mindstorms and programmable drones; special events and field trips; a science speaker series; and educational garden supplies.

Julianna Johnston Senturia, HSF’s executive director, hosted the event. The four sharks were Susan Carver, HSF president; Meghan McMahon, HSF treasurer and CH-UH 21st-Century Grant coordinator; Rosemary Rackl-Pierce, RoxArts president; and the author of this article.

HSF plans to host another Shark Tank event during the 2018–19 school year.