NBA Math Hoops
Khalil Fuller

Program Area: Education
Location of Impact: National

Bold Idea: Improve math literacy among urban youth by creating innovative, fun, and effective educational tools that harness the power of the NBA.

Why I Am Passionate About This: Fifty percent of black eighth-grade students are below “basic” in their math achievement level and only one percent of black youth are at the advanced level, compared to eight percent overall. Growing up, I attended public school in an underserved community in Los Angeles, and I witnessed my peers become disengaged from their studies—particularly in math. As an unofficial Teacher’s Aid in my stepmother’s elementary classroom, I realized how hard it is to get students motivated to do math.  I recalled how in high school, I tutored black students in math and would often reward my tutees by playing basketball. NBA Hoops harnesses the influence of NBA stars to inspire students to be excited about learning math. With an innovative, fast-paced, competitive board game, students use real world NBA and WNBA player data to compete in simulated basketball games while teaching fundamental math skills.

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These profiles are derived from Fellowship applications.