What if…students could relate science, technology, engineering and math to a sport they enjoyed?

And what if the arts were an essential component of all of the above?

That’s entirely possible, with the Anaheim Ducks Hockey Club’s S.C.O.R.E. Program.

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Shortly after we met at the 2018 California STEAM Symposium, Anaheim Ducks Manager of Fan Development Marketing Jason Cooper talked with us about this unique curriculum.

S.C.O.R.E. is an acronym for Scholastic Curriculum of Recreation and Education.   Since 2005, the S.C.O.R.E. Program has been offering Southern California students the opportunity to learn how various concepts apply to the sport of hockey.

With their “Reading is the Goal” program, Ducks players visit local schools and get students started reading for thirty days.  “Reading is the Goal” emphasizes the ways in which reading is the foundation for success.

Meanwhile, S.C.O.R.E.’s physical-education programs include a ten-day “Street Hockey” curriculum for elementary students.  There’s also the “Captain’s Challenge”, in which fifth-graders learn leadership skills through a healthy lifestyle.

Physics (behind the ways players move on the ice), creative design on the masks, and technology, such as 3D printing, are all among the topics students can learn through the S.C.O.R.E. program.

3D printing?  Absolutely–this year’s First Flight Field Trip theme is, “Build a Better Puck”!

Honors and hosting

The program has garnered numerous honors, including two Celebrate Literacy Awards from the California Reading Association.  In 2010, the Orange County Department of Education recognized S.C.O.R.E. with an Outstanding Contribution to Education award.   More recently,  ESPN named the Anaheim Ducks as a finalist for their “Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year”.

And every year, the Anaheim Ducks host a S.C.O.R.E. field trip!

The “First Flight Field Trip” welcomes more than 16,000 students and their teachers for an interactive day of STEAM learning.    Hands-on exhibits, workbook activities and lessons from Ducks players and coaches are all part of the day.   To say that this is a very popular field trip would be an understatement.   The 2019 edition is full, with a waiting list.

However, the Ducks are already planning their 2020 edition, and Jason says, if you contact them, they can let you know when to sign up!

Jason talked about the origins of the S.C.O.R.E. curriculum, what’s involved in some of its programs and what to expect, if you’re an educator or student attending the 2020 “First Flight Field Trip”.

On this edition of Over Coffee®, you will hear:

• How 2004 circumstances led to the creation of the S.C.O.R.E. program;

• How Jason, who is an educator, first became involved in S.C.O.R.E.;

• The strong point that gave the program credibility with the local schools from the outset;

• What Jason’s journey was like, as an innovator, that led him to “fall in love with teaching” and work in his present capacity;

• What’s involved in the “Captain’s Challenge” program, which Jason authored;

• How the “Captain’s Challenge”–and other S.C.O.R.E. programs–can include all students, even those who consider themselves “nonathletic”;

• How the program uses hockey to teach both physics and math;

• Why the ice on which the Ducks skate is not very different from the ice cream you might make in your freezer!;

• How the program interests students focused on the arts;

• The challenge with which students will work, on this year’s “First Flight Field Trip”;

• Ahead-of-time resources available to students (and teachers);

• Some of the previous designs students created, in a similar challenge: What worked?  What didn’t?;

• How to get a school involved and sign up for the 2020 “First Flight Field Trip”‘;

• How”Reading is the Goal” works;

• The theme of the 2020 “First Flight” field trip, and what to expect.