STEM Sports® Expands Curriculum to Include STEM Careers Focus
July 2, 2019
Sport and STEM Alliance member STEM Sports® brings supplemental curriculum to students all across the United States. Its carefully constructed lessons are strategic and immersive educational experiences involving sport and physical activity, that promote STEM literacy, engagement and retention among students in the classroom and on the field of play.
While STEM Sports’® steadfast mission is to promote students' development of critical thinking, collaboration, creative problem-solving and leadership skills, their vision has expanded as a result of the Sport and STEM Alliance and subsequent involvement with Beyond Sport.
“When attending last year’s Beyond Sport Global Awards in New York City and actively participating in the 10Roundtables event at NYU, the proverbial light bulb went on,” said Jeff Golner, STEM Sports® President & CEO. “We all know that the whole purpose of STEM academics is to create a pathway for young students to see occupational opportunities. The job possibilities that have science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills are endless. So, it made sense for us to fuse our lessons to related occupations,” Golner continued.
Soon-to-be-released second volumes of STEM Sports’ STEM Basketball, STEM Football, STEM Soccer and STEM Volleyball curriculum manuals, will include information about sport careers.
“We’ve had enlightening conversations with STEM educators and administers who are very excited about introducing STEM jobs in sports. They’re genuinely looking forward to conversations with students as they learn how they, for example, build stadiums, create sport equipment or become an exercise physiologist,” added Golner.
Physical activity and participation are also vital components of STEM Sports’ curricula. Combining all of these elements achieves a comprehensive educational experience. For example, STEM Sports®' new partner, Spokane, Washington-based Skyhawks Sports, is a leader in providing safe, fun and skills-based sports experiences for kids between the ages of four and fourteen. Celebrating their 40th anniversary, Skyhawks are currently located in 28 states throughout the U.S. with plans for expansion of their afterschool programs and sports camps that include STEM Sports®' curricula. In fact, in Entrepreneur’s 2nd annual Fastest-Growing Franchises ranking, Skyhawks Franchise Group has been named the top youth sports franchise and #117 overall of the top 150 companies who are “leveraging their ability to scale fast.”
"We’re thrilled to partner with Skyhawks Sports and know the addition of our curriculum programs will be a game changer for all parties" said Golner.
More details about this partnership can be found here.
The collaboration with Skyhawks comes on the heels of youth marketing and community relations initiatives that STEM Sports® executed for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. STEM Sports® created 20 STEM Basketball kits with the Phoenix Suns brand, with pencils and decals that included Suns’ popular mascot, The Gorilla. The company then sought ten Title 1 schools to each receive two curriculum kits, a robust professional development event at the Suns’ arena for the implementing teachers and tickets to a Suns game. The initiative has garnered impressive results thus far with one teacher noting,
“I received the STEM Sports® kit free of charge via the Phoenix Suns. After the brief introduction at the Talking Stick Arena, I was given a kit. I presented the kit to my Chief Science Officer (CSO) at my school. CSO’s are students who bring STEM to their schools. Our eighth-grade CSO jumped at the opportunity to bring the curriculum to the students at Villa De Paz Elementary School. We honed in on fourth-grade students and had an overwhelming response. The curriculum is so much fun! The fourth-grade students absolutely love it. They are practicing STEM without even knowing it!”
This past spring, STEM Sports® also made a trip down to Mexico City to implement their STEM curriculum on behalf of HandsOn Mexico, a non-profit organization based out of Atlanta, Georgia that focuses on the betterment of communities and youth support.
Over 150 children from the Club de Niños y Niñas (CNyN/Boys & Girls Club) came to the brand-new club to learn STEM concepts through the use of sports. STEM Sports® led facilitation throughout the day and trained American Express employee volunteers to conduct each module, teaching the lessons derived from the STEM Basketball, STEM Football, STEM Soccer and STEM Volleyball curricula.
“It was an outstanding event. The debate now is who was rewarded the most, the Club’s youth members or the colleagues from American Express,” said Golner.
STEM Sports® feels extremely lucky to have been able to be a part of such an amazing corporate social responsibility opportunity. Upon finishing the day-camp, STEM Sports® curriculum and all of the supplies were provided to CNyN for the children to continue learning STEM in the future.
What’s next for STEM Sports®? With meetings and conversations taking place with other professional sports franchises and collegiate programs, it hopes to announce additional partnerships soon.