Cobb Schools are swimming with innovation. For proof, look no further than the latest winners of Cobb Tank Innovation Grants. This year, teachers from across the Cobb County  School District stepped into the Cobb Tank to pitch their innovative ideas to keep students engaged. The teachers swam away with more than $76,000 in innovation grants to benefit teaching and learning.

The teachers behind the eight winning ideas serve students at Barber Middle School, Daniel Middle School, HAVEN Academy, Kennesaw Mountain High School, Sprayberry High School, Lovinggood Middle School, Russell Elementary School, and Sedalia Elementary School. 

Cobb Tank, the brainchild of Superintendent Chris Ragsdale, is modeled after the popular TV show, “Shark Tank,” where eager contestants pitch their ideas to a panel of “sharks” in hopes of being awarded funding for their project. The Cobb Tank sharks give out more praise than bites. The judges include district personnel and local business owners who volunteer to support the student-focused program.

One of Barber’s grants will enable students to add their own vocal tracks to the music they created, the background and sprites they created for their animations, and put them into video projects. Barber will use the school’s second grant to add two robotic centers to each of the school’s Foundational Skills Classrooms so students can learn from using the robots and transfer skills to everyday life.

Sedalia Parks plans to use the Cobb Tank grant to ignite a spark in students by revamping a school courtyard into an outdoor learning space. HAVEN Academy created an outdoor learning center with a prior Cobb Tank grant and will now be able to expand the options for hands-on learning activities. Russell Elementary is also taking learning outside with their grant. Russell plans to create a STEM Learning Trail where students can make stops along a path to use outdoor observation stations to read about the habitats, observe the sky, take part in STEM challenges, observe, get answers to questions about the environment, and take learning to another level.

Thanks to the grants, Lovinggood 8th graders will be able to explore the science of E-Sports, and Daniell students will have access to a space to collaborate while using technologies such as augmented reality as they are guided through the process of developing research projects. Kennesaw Mountain and Sprayberry teachers teamed up so their students can hear from local and international artists in different professions in the musical industry, tie them into their musical curriculum, and expand their knowledge of the various careers in music.

This year’s Cobb Tank was held at the Lassiter Concert Hall and included the help of 29 students from Harrison High School and the Cobb Schools Events Department. The students helped with set design, lighting, planning camera shots, audio and video capture, graphic design, projection, stage management, electrical needs, interviewing contestants, and postproduction editing of the show.

The event was catered by the Cobb Schools Food and Nutrition Services.

Cobb Tank Winners 2023: