Breaching Blue Podcast: Zach Rome, Founder of the Schooba Academy

The Schooba Academy is a New York City nonprofit that seeks to teach science to low-income students using an innovative tool: SCUBA.  The result has been better test scores, lots of fun, and – best of all – a step closer to world SCUBA domination.

I chatted with its founder and director, Zach Rome, last week and recorded this podcast.

In it we talk about:

1. [0:38] – What is Schooba?
2. [1:23] – How is the program structured?
3. [4:00] – What is it like for a high schooler to learn this way?
4. [5:20] – How do you teach the science?
5. [6:20] – Where do the students go diving?
6. [7:31] – What assistance and donations have you gotten?
7. [9:55] – What have been the educational impacts?
8. [11:45] – What is the future for the Academy?
9. [13:03] – Where did this idea come from?
10. [14:33] – How do people help?  Money donations?  Equipment donations? Volunteer?
11. [16:15] – Have I been pronouncing “Schooba” wrong the entire podcast?

The Schooba Academy accepts help of many sorts: equipment donations, volunteers, and monetary support.  It is sponsored by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so all donations are tax deductible. Zach’s email is zach@schooba.org and more information on how to help can be found here.

Here Instructor Jimmy goes over Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascents (CESAs) with the students.

More pictures of the Schooba Academy can be found here.