The Problem
Our country is facing a crisis. Nationally, 65% of Eighth Grade students are not proficient in math, and that number jumps to 83% among lower-income students.* There is a strong correlation between failing a math class in middle school and dropping out of high school, which leads to a lifetime of struggle. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) initiatives are becoming increasingly important on the national stage.
Our Effort
Math should be fun and engaging! NBA Math Hoops’ mission is to improve math literacy by creating and distributing innovative, fun, effective educational tools that harness the power of basketball. With a team of highly qualified math educators and thought leaders, we have developed a supplemental math curriculum that is structured around a basketball board game.
With NBA Math Hoops, students use real-world NBA and WNBA player data on specially designed player cards to compete against classmates in timed, simulated basketball games. The gameplay of NBA Math Hoops truly feels like a basketball game–teams race against the shot clock to do math correctly for a chance to take a shot with a member of their personally drafted team of NBA and WNBA players, complete with those players’ real shooting percentages. The game takes fewer than 10 minutes to learn in a hands-on setting, and it is extraordinarily fun and intense. The gameplay and post-game mathematics activities are aligned with and informed by the Common Core Standards for Mathematics, and also teach 21st Century Learning Skills. Math explorations allow students to investigate and make meaning of the intricacies of the game, and provide multiple opportunities for students to apply many of the Common Core Mathematical Practices.
NBA Math Hoops was created in coordination with NBA Cares and Big Picture Learning – a Gates Foundation recognized network of alternative schools. NBA Math Hoops intends to scale its impact through widespread distribution of the physical game as well as through the development of robust digital platforms. It has the potential to literally change the lives of millions of students across the country.
Click here to download a Common Core Correlation Map
Click here to download a 21st Century Learning Skills Correlation Map
Correlation maps created by an independent PhD.
Partners
Our incredible partners and supporters help us create math champions, one game at a time.
Khalil Fuller (Chief Executive Officer)
Khalil is a young social entrepreneur with a passion for driving positive change in education. Khalil attended Brown University, where he studied Education and Social Innovation and was a member of the Men’s Rugby Team. Khalil is an African American National Merit Scholar, an Echoing Green Black Male Achievement Fellow (the youngest Echoing Green fellow in the organization’s 25 year history), and a winner of MassChallenge - the world's largest startup competition. Khalil has been honored by Ebony for "Manifesting Youth Leadership Now" and has been named to the Under30CEO list for the Greater Boston Area. The Washington Post's “The Root” named Khalil one of the nation’s "Young Futurists"
Bill Daugherty (Founder & Executive Chairman)
Bill served as Sr. Vice President of Business Development for the National Basketball Association from 1991-1999. After leaving the NBA, Bill went on to become the Founder and co-CEO of Interactive Search Holdings which was sold in 2004. Presently, Bill is Executive Chair of ANC Sports which designs, installs and operates the signage and scoreboards systems for 50+ professional and college teams across the country. Bill also serves on the Board of ConnectEDU and Tickets-For-Charity. Bill chairs the Center for Entrepreneurship at The Met Center which is a Big Picture Learning school.
Bill is a graduate of the University of Georgia and the Harvard Business School. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife and 3 children.
Jim Fina (Inventor & Project Manager)
Jim has been working in educational publishing for the past 25 years, serving variously as editor, production manager, and editorial/design director at such companies as Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Scholastic, and Kaplan Inc. amongst others. He is also the co-publisher of Fantasy Baseball: An Integrated Math Program.
Tim Scheidt (Inventor & Creative Developer)
Tim is the inventor of the NBA Math Hoops board game and a principal writer of the student and teacher support materials. Sports being a prevalent context for Tim’s work, he is also the author of Fantasy Baseball: An Integrated Math Program. First published in 1994, the Fantasy Baseball program has been utilized by over 1 million students nationwide.
Elliot Washor
Elliot Washor Ed.D. is the co-founder and co-director of Big Picture Learning. He is also the co-founder of The Met Center in Providence, RI. Elliot has been involved in school reform for more than 30 years as a teacher, principal, administrator, video producer, and writer. He has taught and is interested in all levels of school from kindergarten through college, in urban and rural settings, across all disciplines.
Dennis Littky
Dennis is the co-founder and co-director of Big Picture Learning and the Met Center in Providence. He is nationally known for his extensive work in secondary education in urban, suburban, and rural settings, spanning over 40 years. As an educator, Dennis has a reputation for working up against the edge of convention and out of the box, turning tradition on its head and delivering concrete results.
