Innovative Educators Win Shark Tank 2.0 Awards

CH-UH educators were recently invited to ‘swim with the sharks’ in this year’s ‘Shark Tank 2.0: The Digital Edition.’ This year’s version (loosely based on the ABC show) gave educators an opportunity to pitch their ideas through submitting a video to a panel of ‘sharks’ from the staff of the Heights Schools Foundation. Betsy Friedlander Stimpert ’90 and Julianna Johnston Senturia ’87 reviewed each submission and made awards to staff.  The complete list of winners and their projects can be found below. A total of 18 projects were given awards ranging from $200 to $500 – and every school in the district had at least one project, totaling just under $9,000.

Senturia said, “There were so many good ideas, we’re giving additional awards this year.”

Some of the creative videos included students and others focused on a well-developed, informative explanation. The Foundation is grateful to staff for submitting so many high quality ideas and to our donors and supporters who make this work possible. Shaker Tank is possible in large part because of the funds raised at the Annual Community & Alumni Pancake Breakfast – coming up on April 7th @Heights.  “I hope we’ll have even more attendees this year – with an auction and pop-up spiritwear shop- it will be a fun morning! That would mean even more innovation awards for teachers next year!”

Our favorite videos can be found on our YouTube Channel and will be highlighted on our Facebook page throughout the month of March.

The full list of awards:

Shu Hui Lin	Heights High School	9-12, Chinese, World Language Department	Promote Chinese language and world cultural understanding through research projects, art, martial arts and dance through celebrations related to Chinese New Year.
Jessica Valentino-Artman	Canterbury Elementary	Spanish K-5	Ipads/cases for students to record audio/video, create projects and explore around the world.
Sara Friedel	Noble	Kiwanis Kids Club- open to all students	Programming for the entire school by Cleveland-Upcycle on how to create art from recyclables.
Cindy Rakow, Esther Graber, Paula Lucas	Rox El, FF, Oxford, Gearity, and Canterbury	Occupational Therapy- kindergarten classrooms	Purchasing fine motor tools/toys for all OT kindergarten classrooms to support development of fine motor control and coordination.
Sarah Parker	Heights High School	9-12 CTE Marketing Management/DECA	For two students who are attending the International Career Development Conference in Orlando, to attend DECA Day at the water park.
Jennifer Thomas	Roxboro Elementary	5th	Funding for ‘Children’s Ink’ which showcases students poetry with guest speakers and musical performances.
Julie Walker	Boulevard	4th – all	Provide supplies for enrichment clubs in all 4th grade classrooms.
Sherri Bellini	Boulevard Elementary	4th grade	Materials for an Entrepreneur Fair for students to budget, make, market and sell products.
Laura Preston	Boulevard	4th	Provide all 4th graders with a copy of “The Wild Robot Escapes”, a sequel to “The Wild Robot”.
Abi Adeyemon	Heights High	Spanish Level 1	Funding for several students to study abroad in Guatemala.
Mark Dougherty	Heights Middle School	Grades 6-8, Spanish	Take Back the Night rally & march to educate about and provide a voice for the survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Doug Reble	Heights High	Grades 9-12, All Subjects ,Sped	Expand the cooking program to include more complex recipes.
Angelique Troy	Monticello	Grades 6-8, Visual Art	Art supplies for students to design signage that informs and creates an aesthetic upgrade for the urban demonstration farm.
Sarah Schlafer	Oxford Elementary	PK- 5 Music	11 Remo Rhythm drum lids with buckets to enhance a wide variety of educational needs.
Karly Bowman	Canterbury Elementary	K-5 Music	3 tubano drums for educational enrichment.
Tamara Heldman	Noble and Gearity	3-5 Gifted ELA & Math	Lego Mindstorm EV3 kit and software program to promote logical thinking and math skills.
Sarah Adair	Oxford Elementary	2nd Grade All Subjects	Trip to Lake Metropark Environmental Learning Center to learn about force and motion.
Brian Stern	Gearity Elementary	Grades 3-5	Materials to create Starry Night Cleveland a STEM circuit lesson utilizing LED lights, circuits and batteries.