Classroom Meets Boardroom as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Teams Up with ABC’s Shark Tank for Latest in Math@Work Video Series

BOSTON – Global learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) today released “Math@Work: Math Meets Entrepreneurship,” the fourth webisode in its free online series designed to connect classroom learning to 21st century career opportunities.

In the twenty minute “Math@Work: Math Meets Entrepreneurship” webisode, two teams of aspiring student entrepreneurs pitch their unique business ideas to the expert “Sharks” of ABC’s multiple Emmy Award winning reality series Shark Tank – real-estate mogul Barbara Corcoran; owner and chairman of AXS TV and outspoken owner of the 2011 NBA champion Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban; “Queen of QVC” Lori Greiner; technology innovator Robert Herjavec; and venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary. For this special episode, the students field a series of challenging questions from the panel and must use their mathematical knowledge and skills to analyze their business plans and convince the “Sharks” to bite and offer valuable real-world feedback on their ideas.

"Every year we see more young people entering the Tank and it's inspiring,” said Kevin O’Leary, Chairman, O’Shares ETF. “It's never too soon to start on the path to entrepreneurship and financial freedom. I hope Math@Work helps more kids realize that!"

“The Math@Work series is designed to get kids excited about the connections between what they learn in the classroom and real-world opportunities in an engaging, fun way. We’re particularly thrilled to partner with ABC’s Shark Tank to encourage the type of creative thinking that will help students achieve big goals as they explore additional career and education opportunities beyond the classroom,” said Amy Dunkin, Chief Marketing Officer, HMH.

From the creators of GO Math!, the award-winning classroom curriculum for students K-8, and MATH 180, the revolutionary intervention program designed to build confidence for success with algebra, each Math@Work webisode is paired with lessons that facilitate mathematical discussions and problem solving for students in grades four and up.

With a projected 2.5 million jobs available in STEM fields by 2020, the series underscores why strong math skills are essential for 21st century careers, and engaging appearances from celebrities at the top of their craft demonstrate the relevancy of math in everyday life. Additional Math@Work episodes include “Math Meets Homebuilding” hosted by Ty Pennington and “Math Meets Fashion” hosted by Tim Gunn. The entire series can be viewed on the HMH website at: hmhco.com/mathatwork

About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (NASDAQ:HMHC) is a global learning company dedicated to changing people’s lives by fostering passionate, curious learners. As a leading provider of pre-K–12 education content, services, and cutting-edge technology solutions across a variety of media, HMH enables learning in a changing landscape. HMH is uniquely positioned to create engaging and effective educational content and experiences from early childhood to beyond the classroom.  HMH serves more than 50 million students in over 150 countries worldwide, while its award-winning children's books, novels, non-fiction, and reference titles are enjoyed by readers throughout the world. For more information, visit www.hmhco.com.

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Media Contact
Meghan Anderson
609-458-5326
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
meghan.daly@hmhco.com