Dublin City Schools
When the National Football League (NFL) season kicked off last fall, students in Molly Love’s fourth-grade classroom at Indian Run Elementary were ready.
Not just as fans, but as analysts.
Over the course of the season – from opening weekend through the Super Bowl – Love’s students participated in NFeLementary, a pilot program that uses the structure, statistics and storylines of the NFL to teach fourth-grade academic standards. What began with the excitement of drafting teams in September evolved into months of deep academic engagement grounded in real data.
Dublin City Schools
At the start of the year, each student selected an NFL team to follow. That team became more than a favorite franchise: it became a case study.
Students tracked weekly performance data, calculated win-loss percentages, compared scoring averages, analyzed trends and applied fractions and decimals to real-time statistics. Geography lessons took students across the country as they studied team locations, regional characteristics and city demographics. Even science concepts emerged through discussions about player positions and the mechanics of the human body.
The fall football season became a framework for rigorous thinking.
In Love’s classroom, Mondays were especially meaningful. While many classrooms ease into the week, hers buzzed with conversation. Students debated game outcomes, referenced statistics and eagerly opened their binders to update data charts. The enthusiasm was authentic, but the work was intentional. Every discussion circled back to standards-based learning.
Approximately 200 to 300 teachers nationwide are piloting NFeLementary, with Indian Run Elementary serving as the only participating school in central Ohio. The program represents a growing recognition that relevance fuels engagement – and engagement drives learning.
Throughout the season, students maintained detailed data binders. They did not simply record scores. They interpreted them. They identified patterns. They asked why performance shifted from one week to the next. They practiced defending conclusions with evidence.
The learning was cumulative. As the season progressed toward the playoffs and ultimately the Super Bowl, students were not just spectators. They were informed observers with months of analytical practice behind them.
Dublin City Schools
ABC6 Sports Anchor Dave Holmes visits students.
ABC6 Sports Anchor Dave Holmes visited the classroom during the season to see the program firsthand. During his visit, he quizzed students with sports trivia tied to their team research and classroom analysis. The students responded with confidence, demonstrating both content knowledge and academic reasoning. The moment captured what had been building quietly all fall: students who were comfortable thinking critically in real time.
While test scores are never the sole measure of success, early indicators show strong academic growth. More importantly, students demonstrated increased confidence and participation. Each child had ownership and expertise, and each had something meaningful to contribute to the conversation.
A sense of belonging also played a role. Through a partnership with FOCO, a leading manufacturer of sports and entertainment merchandise, every student received an official NFL backpack representing their drafted team. Several NFL franchises sent care packages during the season, reinforcing that their classroom work was connected to something larger.
Yet the true impact of NFeLementary was not the gear or even the games themselves. It was the transformation of interest into disciplined inquiry.
Dublin City Schools
By the time the Super Bowl arrived, students had spent months building skills in data analysis, mathematical reasoning, geographic literacy and evidence-based discussion. The championship game was not the culmination of hype – it was the final chapter of a season-long learning journey.
As a new NFL season approaches, the lessons remain.
At Indian Run Elementary, one teacher’s creative approach demonstrated how thoughtful instruction can bridge culture and curriculum, and the academic confidence built along the way will carry these students far beyond the field.
Cassie Dietrich is a Public Information Officer at Dublin City Schools.
