Football season is upon us — and engaging and teaching students through a popular sport makes sense on many levels.

The Playbook, textbook given to students at in-person sessions. A Spanish edition was launched last spring.

That’s the idea behind 49ers EDU, the National Football League team’s educational arm. Back in 2013, when the 49ers’ new stadium was being built in Santa Clara, the York family, owners of the team, decided to develop an educational curriculum for local children and youth.

“When Levi’s Stadium was constructed, the Yorks wanted to do something for the Bay Area community,” says Jesse Lovejoy, director of 49ers EDU. He adds the program, which offers educational services directly rather than through a vendor, is unique to the NFL.

Since it launched in 2014, 49ers EDU has developed a standards-aligned STEAM curriculum for K-8 students, both in person and online. It leverages football and Levi’s Stadium as platforms to connect, engage and inspire students and educators. Science and math teachers and representatives from the Lawrence Hall of Science, the Exploratorium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, among others, serve on the program’s education advisory committee.

The curriculum is aligned to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. “Project-based learning is the main pedagogy,” Lovejoy says. Including Lovejoy, the 49ers EDU staff of six includes four full-time instructors.

Teacher Jhulsany Futol (pointing in the air) brought his first graders on a 49ers EDU field trip last year.

Teacher Jhulsany Futol brought his first grade class on a field trip to Levi’s last year shortly before in-person experiences were suspended due to the pandemic. 49ers EDU let the United Educators of San Francisco member invite another first grade class at his school as well.

“We did a lot of physical activities,” Futol recalls. “It was a force and movement lab with different stations. The kids did drills similar to football drills — running, maneuvering through obstacles. It was their favorite field trip of the year.”

49ers player K’Waun Williams with students.

Last fall, Futol’s new group of first graders participated in a 49ers EDU virtual lesson, which they enjoyed. “It was a combination of arts and geometry. The instructor did a tutorial using different shapes in football for kids to draw,” he says.

All 49ers EDU offerings are free. The program has thus far served more than 350,000 participants, including during the pandemic, when in-person field trips were suspended. More than 60 percent of students have come from Title I schools.

Former 49ers player Ben Garland high-fives excited students.

49ers EDU offers three main components:

• The Playbook, a textbook that students receive at in-person sessions. The book is online as The Digital Playbook, available for free in English and, as of this past spring, in Spanish.
• The Digital Playbook Video Review Series, which provides context and detail related to specific pages of the Playbook on such topics as the physics, art and math of football; nutrition and fitness; and more.
• The Virtual Lesson Series, such as what Futol’s class did. Launched this past spring, lessons are 45 minutes and delivered via Zoom. Lovejoy’s team beta tested them with teachers who had their field trips to Levi’s canceled due to COVID.

A page from the Playbook, illustrating concepts of aerodynamics with a football.

Virtual lessons are confined to Bay Area schools right now because of capacity issues, says Lovejoy. “We’ll continue our virtual programming because we reach more kids,” he says. “But it doesn’t replace the impact of being in person in the stadium.”

49ers EDU is expanding its offerings, with a lesson on data analytics in development, new videos and interactive components on tap, and a high school-specific curriculum in the future.

The program “takes cues from the Bay Area education ecosystem” and responds to student and educator needs and interests, Lovejoy says. For example, the playbook was translated into Spanish, and the staff is looking into creating versions of current lessons in Spanish, as a result of demand.

49ers player Robbie Gould looks to hand off.

49ers EDU is a win for students — on or off the field.

For more information, go to 49ers.com/community/49ersedu.