ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The St. Louis Cardinals announced the launch of their new baseball themed educational course Summer Slugger, powered by the digital learning innovator EVERFI. Each summer, students lose critical math and literacy skills, widening the achievement gap and requiring substantial remediation at the start of each year. Summer Slugger is an interactive, online course developed to prevent this "summer slide".
"Each fall, teachers waste valuable time re-teaching their students old material that was lost during the summer months. Students, particularly students from low-income communities, can't afford this summer slide," said EVERFI CEO Tom Davidson. "EVERFI is proud to team up with Major League Baseball to fill in this critical learning gap through our digital, game-based course, Summer Slugger."
Developed for 4th and 5th graders, Summer Slugger consists of 36 interactive games, each about ten minutes in length, which cover units of measure; place value; arithmetic; geometry; spelling; phonemic awareness; vocabulary and comprehension. The interactive course 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 baseball themed learning experience.
This morning, members of the Cardinals front office staff, along with Fredbird and Team Fredbird, visited students at Dunbar Elementary to launch the program, play games, and speak on the importance of a strong education.
"We are excited to partner with EVERFI to provide teachers, parents and community organizations a fun and interactive resource to combat summer learning loss," said Michael Hall, Cardinals Vice President of Community Relations & Executive Director of Cardinals Care. "The Cardinals are committed to making a difference in the lives of children, and we believe Summer Slugger gives us the perfect opportunity to do so."
Summer Slugger is now available at no cost to school and community based organizations in the surrounding St. Louis area. For more information, visit cardinals.com/summerslugger.