ESA celebrates program launch at LA Challenger Boys & Girls Club
LOS ANGELES – August 1, 2018 – Students across Los Angeles will enjoy America’s two favorite pastimes, baseball and video games, while practicing essential math and literacy skills over their summer break this year. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today announced the launch of its partnership with Major League Baseball to provide a baseball-themed educational course in schools and community centers across LA. Powered by EVERFI Inc., Summer Slugger is a continuous and engaging learning experience that prepares students of all backgrounds to enter the next school year on track.
“There is no better team up than baseball and video games to provide a fun, interactive experience to benefit children across LA,” said ESA Vice President of State Government Affairs Tom Foulkes. “ESA is thrilled to join the MLB in addressing this critical academic issue among young people.”
To celebrate the program launch, ESA visited the Challengers Boys & Girls Club, where Summer Slugger is now available to youth members at no cost. Throughout the visit, participating youth were congratulated on their dedication to education and to preventing the “summer slide.”
“Each fall, teachers waste valuable time re-teaching their students old material that was lost during the summer months,” said EVERFI co-founder and President of Global Partnerships Jon Chapman. “Students, particularly students from low-income communities, can’t afford this summer slide. EVERFI is excited to see ESA team up with Major League Baseball to fill in this critical learning gap through our digital, game-based course Summer Slugger.”
Summer Slugger consists of 36 interactive, 10-minute games that cover units of measure, place value, arithmetic, geometry, spelling, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and comprehension. Targeted at 4th and 5th graders, the program unlocks activities and offers rewards for progress and consistency. Students engage with content that reinforces key foundational and procedural skills while enjoying the freedom and motivation of a baseball-themed learning experience.
About ESA
ESA offers a wide range of services to interactive entertainment software companies, including conducting business and consumer research; providing legal and policy analysis and advocacy on First Amendment, intellectual property, and technology/e-commerce issues; managing a global content protection program; owning and operating E3; and representing video game industry interests in federal and state government relations. For more information, visit ESA’s website or follow ESA on Twitter @theESA or @ESAGovAffairs.
About EVERFI
EVERFI is the leading education technology company that provides learners of all ages education for the real world, through innovative and scalable digital learning. Founded in 2008, EVERFI is fueled by its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) subscription model and has certified over 16 million learners in critical skill areas. Some of America’s leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EVERFI investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Twitter founder Evan Williams, TPG Growth, The Rise Fund, Advance Publications, and Rethink Education, and Rethink Impact. The EVERFI Education Network powers more than 4,200 partners in their education initiatives across all 50 states and Canada. Learn more at EVERFI.com.
