The MLB Summer Program: An Overview
From a press release
Summary
What Is The MLB Summer Slugger Program? Summer Slugger is a fun, interactive, online course that uses the game of baseball to help kids ages 8 to 11 maintain their math and literacy skills during the summer months. Major League Baseball and EVERFI have teamed up to create a platform that keeps kids learning while they are out of school, and avoid the “summer slide” that contributes to a long-term achievement gap.
Major League Baseball and EVERFI, the leading social impact education and Official Education Partner of MLB, today announced the widespread availability of the “Summer Slugger” digital education platform to assist some of the 39 million students currently learning at home in the United States and Canada. Parents, legal guardians and teachers can access the program for students at SummerSlugger.com.
Originally created as a first-of-its-kind program to address summer learning loss during vacation months, Summer Slugger is a free baseball-themed and gamified education course focusing on math and literacy skills. Since the program’s launch in June 2017, MLB Clubs have introduced more than 140,000 young people in the U.S. and Canada, ages 8-11, to the program, with thousands more accessing the platform at home.
EVERFI will work closely with MLB Clubs on the direct-to-fan and school & community engagement for the Summer Slugger program. Clubs will have access to their own co-branded course, a special toolkit with creative logos, promotional content and other assets in pursuit of spreading awareness about the program’s availability.
“One constant that remains unchanged amid the current evolving situation is our commitment to promoting student academic achievement and positive outcomes,” said Melanie LeGrande, Vice President of Social Responsibility, Major League Baseball. “MLB and our Clubs are proud to assist the millions of parents and school teachers in helping our young people succeed during these challenging circumstances.”
“Our core mission has always been about making education available to students and during this time of crisis we are pleased that so many of our partners have stepped up to the plate to open up their programs to the millions of students and families who are navigating this new learn at home experience,” said Jon Chapman, Founder and President, EVERFI. “This is an extraordinary time for teachers and students and we applaud MLB for ensuring that students continue to receive critical math and literacy skills education in a highly engaging format.”
Summer Slugger contains 36 Series (designed to take no longer than 10 minutes to complete) which cover the following educational topics: units of measure, place value, arithmetic, geometry, spelling, phonemic awareness, vocabulary and comprehension.
Summer Slugger unlocks activities and offers rewards for progress and consistency along the way. Students engage with content that reinforces key foundational and procedural skills while enjoying the freedom and motivation of a digital baseball activity.
Last week, MLB and the MLBPA made a $1 million joint donation to Feeding America and Meals on Wheels, in addition to a $30 million commitment made by MLB Clubs to emergency relief for ballpark employees. If so willing and able, fans can contribute toward these charities, MLB official charity Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and additional causes at MLB.com/give.
About Summer Slugger
Summer Slugger is an evidence-based program that provides students with baseball-themed math and literacy activities aimed to support retention of knowledge during the summer. The digital resource, intended for children ages 8-11, engages students in game-based activities that address the skills necessary to combat the loss of knowledge over the summer. Since 2017, 140,000 students across MLB’s 30 markets participated in Summer Slugger.