Oct. 21, 2009

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Members of the women's basketball team visited area schools this week as the third installment of the 5th Grade Fastbreak program began. Last season, the team spent over 40 hours in the classroom helping teachers educate the students through basketball.

"The Fastbreak partnership with the University of Alabama affords our students an opportunity to apply classroom learning to real-life situations," said Missy Stephens, Director of Elementary Education for Tuscaloosa City Schools. "Alabama Course of Study standards in mathematics, language arts and history come alive as our students read about the history of basketball, collect data during the game and analyze it afterwards. It makes learning relevant and enjoyable."

The program was developed for the start of the 2007-08 season through a partnership between the Alabama women's basketball team, the Alabama Consortium for Education Renewal (ACER) and the Tuscaloosa City and County elementary schools. The idea was to provide athletically-related educational initiatives to local fifth graders and have student-athletes from the women's basketball team visit classrooms throughout the season to help engage the students in the material.

The game of basketball is used in all facets of the curriculum including mathematics, English and language arts, science, character education, art and physical education. Teachers are provided "Game Plan" packets that contain ideas in which to incorporate basketball into each one of these subjects. In addition, supplemental material such as copies of box scores, lineup cards and court diagrams are given for use in the classroom.

Highlighting the program is the 5th Grade Fastbreak Game of the Year which will take place Monday, Dec. 21 at 11:30 a.m. (CST) against Presbyterian. The basketball team selects one game a year that will be played during school hours, so the fifth graders involved in the program can all attend and be back to school by the end of the day.

"Many of our students have never visited a college campus or attended an athletic event," added Stephens. "This might very well be a defining moment in a child's life."