Image

Congratulations
to our winners!

Congratulations
to our winners!

Congratulations to our entire Teacherpreneur cohort! We are so proud of the work they put in and are excited to see what is next for them and their ideas.

First Place
Kathleen Shepherd

Haywood Elementary School
Kathleen Shepherd designed an idea to provide engaging literacy kits for multi-lingual students and families to use together at home, both increasing students’ reading and writing skills and celebrating the many languages and cultures within her school community.

Second Place
Ashley Giddens

East Nashville Magnet High School

Ashley Giddens, a school counselor at East Nashville Magnet High School, earned second place for her idea to ensure students who are incarcerated in the juvenile court system receive the necessary academic supports to transition back to the public school setting on track to graduate and pursue a postsecondary career option.

Third Place
Natalie Nikitas

Valor College Prep

Natalie Nikitas from Valor College Prep earned third place for her idea to increase teacher retention by developing a cohort model for veteran teachers to collaborate and support one another’s professional learning.

Community Favorite
April Greene

Alex Green Elementary School

April Greene from Alex Green Elementary School earned the Community Favorite award for her idea to develop a program centered around helping students grow literacy skills and confidence by exploring books and stories that celebrate their personal identities, cultures, and backgrounds.

Meet the Cohort

Angie Allen
Exceptional Education Teacher, Murrell School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I like finding solutions to problems and appreciate the work NPEF does."

Jamie Bonkowski
History Teacher, Nashville Big Picture High School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"Becoming a Teacherpreneur will allow me to address educational challenges and create innovative solutions to enhance the learning experience and ensure equitable access to quality education."

Kelly Carey
STEAM Teacher, Tusculum Elementary School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I want to make my school better. I enjoy networking opportunities in MNPS. Chattanooga PEF offers incredible PD experiences. I'm looking forward to similar experiences with Nashville PEF."

Sarah Casada
School Counselor, Ross Early Learning Center

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I have been wanting a therapy dog to have at school for years, and this seemed like an avenue to pursue this."

Ashley Giddens
School Counselor, East Nashville Magnet High School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I applied to Teacherpreneur to marry my passion for education and innovation."

April Greene
Curriculum Specialist, Alex Green Elementary School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"Observing the daily challenges faced by our students has inspired me to seek innovative solutions. Upon discovering this opportunity, I recognized it as an excellent chance to receive support in transforming my idea into reality."

Molly Handler
Numeracy Coach, Ida B. Wells Elementary School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"Opportunities to be creative and grow in the profession."

MJ Manley
Exceptional Education Teacher, Harris-Hillman School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I am looking for an opportunity to attack equity in my building, and I believe the supports and learning opportunities from the Teacherpreneur experience will directly impact my successes."

Natalie Nikitas
History Teacher, Valor College Prep

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I think this is a fantastic opportunity to make change to education in a meaningful and lasting way. I’m also really excited to work alongside other excellent educators and learn from this cohort of people."

Kathleen Shepherd
1st Grade Teacher, Haywood Elementary

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I am passionate about working towards a world in which every child has an equitable educational experience. I believe Teacherpreneur will provide the opportunity to think collaboratively with other educators about how to make meaningful change in the lives of students."

Meet the Cohort

Image

Angie Allen
Exceptional Education Teacher, Murrell School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I like finding solutions to problems and appreciate the work NPEF does."

Image

Jamie Bonkowski
History Teacher, Nashville Big Picture High School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"Becoming a Teacherpreneur will allow me to address educational challenges and create innovative solutions to enhance the learning experience and ensure equitable access to quality education."

Image

Kelly Carey
STEAM Teacher, Tusculum Elementary School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I want to make my school better. I enjoy networking opportunities in MNPS. Chattanooga PEF offers incredible PD experiences. I'm looking forward to similar experiences with Nashville PEF."

Image

Sarah Casada
School Counselor, Ross Early Learning Center

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I have been wanting a therapy dog to have at school for years, and this seemed like an avenue to pursue this."

Image

Ashley Giddens
School Counselor, East Nashville Magnet High School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I applied to Teacherpreneur to marry my passion for education and innovation."

Image

April Greene
Curriculum Specialist, Alex Green Elementary School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"Observing the daily challenges faced by our students has inspired me to seek innovative solutions. Upon discovering this opportunity, I recognized it as an excellent chance to receive support in transforming my idea into reality."

Image

Molly Handler
Numeracy Coach, Ida B. Wells Elementary School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"Opportunities to be creative and grow in the profession."

Image

MJ Manley
Exceptional Education Teacher, Harris-Hillman School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I am looking for an opportunity to attack equity in my building, and I believe the supports and learning opportunities from the Teacherpreneur experience will directly impact my successes."

Image

Natalie Nikitas
History Teacher, Valor College Prep

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I think this is a fantastic opportunity to make change to education in a meaningful and lasting way. I’m also really excited to work alongside other excellent educators and learn from this cohort of people."

Image

Kathleen Shepherd
1st Grade Teacher, Haywood Elementary School

What made you want to apply to Teacherpreneur?
"I am passionate about working towards a world in which every child has an equitable educational experience. I believe Teacherpreneur will provide the opportunity to think collaboratively with other educators about how to make meaningful change in the lives of students."

Create. Refine. Pitch. Pilot.

The Teacherpreneur program is designed to harness educator innovation to remove barriers to success so that all students thrive.

This professional learning opportunity will help teachers identify an issue, research root causes of the issue, and create innovative solutions while developing their skills as change-makers both in and beyond the walls of their classroom.
The Teacherpreneur cohort will participate in professional learning from December through February to design and refine their solution to a challenge they see in their classroom or school. The cohort experience will culminate in a pitch event awarding $25,000 in cash prizes to the top concepts.

The top three winners will also receive seed funding to implement their innovative solution as a pilot program.

THE COHORT's JOURNEY

See below for some highlights from our inaugural Teacherpeneur cohort as they prepared to pitch their prototypes on February 24.

Cohort mentor Brian Purvis advises the inaugural cohort

Teacherpreneurs David Myers and Paula Pendergrass discuss root causes of educational inequities

Teacherpreneurs Addison Barrack and LaKesha Rayford share findings from their empathy interviews

Teacherpreneurs Justin Montenegro and Nita Smith practice their pitches and provide feedback

Inspired by words from local entrepreneur and educator Emily Freitag, CEO of Instruction Partners, to “find a problem you can fall in love with,” our 12 Teacherpreneurs are designing solutions to problems they are most passionate about addressing. Some of these include:

  • The effect of high teacher turnover on teachers and students
  • The need for more effective instructional supports for English Learners
  • The struggle of balancing work and school for some students
  • The lack of access to teachers of color
  • The lack of accessible opportunities for parents to engage in their child’s education

"Teachers are the backbone of education! To hear the passion and brilliance of my Teacherpreneurs cohort members was confirmation of why this think-tank is needed and even more so amid such perilous times in education."

- Inaugural cohort member

Teacherpreneurs Nikki Bolling and Chriseni Pulse discuss ways to increase equitable access to parent involvement activities

Each cohort member received a box full of books, supplies, and mementos

Teacherpreneurs Daven Oglesby and Quanita Adams practice their pitches and provide feedback

NPEF's Katie Cour interviews Instruction Partners CEO Emily Freitag

Applications for Cohort 3 close November 5 at midnight.

The Teacherpreneur application is open to any MNPS or MNPS-operated public charter school educator who is certificated non-administrative staff (teachers, librarians, counselors, etc.) instructing students at least 50% of the time.

Teacherpreneur sessions will take place from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. on the following dates:

Session 1 | December 7, 2023

Session 2| January 11, 2024

Session 3 | January 25, 2024

Session 4 | February 1, 2024

Session 5 | February 15, 2024

Teacherpreneurs will also participate in office hours held virtually in between sessions and the pitch event in late February, exact time/date TBD.

Teacherpreneur D. Olige pitches her idea to provide behavioral supports to students in the classroom at our inaugural pitch night.

Teacherpreneur Daven Oglesby reacts to being named the second place winner in 2022.

The second cohort of Teacherpreneurs pose for a group shot following pitch night in 2023.

Teacherpreneur Sarai Ovalle pitches her idea to increase access to academic magnet schools for English Learner students.

Here’s what past cohort members have to say about participating in Teacherpreneur:

"The opportunity to become a Teacherpreneur with NPEF shifted my perspective to view how I might package my ideas and get them into the hands of people who want to know more. This training expanded my knowledge in ways that I did not know existed."

“I learned strategies for networking, marketing, and change management. I feel empowered as a teacher leader to now use these strategies in a variety of contexts. Teacherpreneur was unique in the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills that can initiate and cultivate lasting changes in an organization.”
“The NPEF facilitators effectively crafted development sessions that attended to our time, engagement, expanded our resources, and more. This experience helped me to deepen my understanding in a whole new direction. After 30 years of teaching, this was the first professional development that provided a new paradigm shift of how my expertise can be harnessed for others to succeed in and outside of the classroom.”

"The Teacherpreneur experience empowered me to fight for change within the education world, and showed me that change is truly possible within our classrooms, schools, and district!"