November 28, 2023 / By mobanmarket
DANVERS, MA — Teams of fourth-grade students from each of the five Danvers elementary schools will take center stage and make their respective pitches at Holten Richmond Middle School on Tuesday night as part of the first district-wide “Baby Sharks” competition.
The competition — based on the hit TV show “Shark Tank” — is part of the district’s efforts to form a connection between Danvers High School students and the younger grades with four-year DHS DECA students Aundrea Gaudino, Molly Godried and Lucas Landry managing the project where the teams of fourth-graders design a new product and “pitch” it to a panel for approval and “investment.”
The project, which previously included students from Thorpe Elementary School, now includes all five schools with the high school students writing the curriculum for the seven-week program aimed at helping young students improve public speaking skills and “think like entrepreneurs.”
Danvers High DECA advisor and business teacher Meghan Beaulieu is overseeing the program, which involves about 150 fourth graders with the help of 15 high school DECA members.
“Fourth-graders have the ability to think outside the box,” said Beaulieu, who started the DECA program at DHS 20 years ago and has seen it grow to 250 students.
Among the products developed by the fourth graders were a custom pencil that molds to someone’s hand, a probe that can be put into food to scan for ingredients a person is allergic to, an electric bicycle for seniors and a survival tool that can be used in the woods.
The top two teams from each school advanced to Tuesday night’s final competition, which begins at 6 p.m.
The project is funded, in part, through a $50,000 Innovation Pathways Implementation and Support Grant from the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
“We have been placing increased emphasis on collaboration between our students and those at the middle school and all the elementary schools,” Danvers High Principal Adam Federico said. “We have several projects underway that demonstrate those partnerships.”
Last year, four groups of Danvers High DECA students finished in the top 20 in their category at the international competition, with two written projects earning the DECA Glass with a top three ranking.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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