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DEKALB COUNTY, GA—Eighth-grade students at DeKalb Academy of Technology & Environment, Inc. (DATE Academy) put their entrepreneurial training to the test this week by pitching their businesses to a panel of “sharks.”
The young students sought investors for an array of businesses that included food projects, sneakers, jewelry and trendy accessories. Some were successful in convincing the panel while others headed back to the drawing board to work on their plans. The morning event was filled with cheers and groans from the students and peers, who were in the audience.
The presenters had prepared for their May 1 presentations over seven weeks by working in teams on their business ideas and watching the television show, “Shark Tank,” where real-life entrepreneurs stand before seasoned investors and pitch their ideas, hoping for a chance to get funding to help market and grow their businesses.
Darlene Caffey, an eighth-grade instructor who coordinated the academy’s program, now in its seventh year, said the Shark Tank program is a fun way for the students to learn about the business world.
The school’s Shark Tank 2023 program was designed to help the young entrepreneurs understand how to create their own business, develop a marketing brand and make a profit from their ideas, said Caffey
This year’s sharks included Headmaster Maury Wills, Principal Erica Thomas, Support Personnel Jeffrey Billingsley, and STEAM Coordinator Nanette Shillingford.
DATE Academy is a charter school that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grades. It is located at
1492 Kelton Drive, Stone Mountain.
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