A Bayside elementary school has launched a new “NFeLementary” initiative using the ongoing NFL season to teach students writing, literacy, math and social skills.
A third-grade class at Bayside’s PS 390Q, a District 26 choice school located at 56-10 214th St., has launched an “NFeLementary Program,” which sees every student in the class draft an NFL team to track for the current season.
The initiative, inspired by viral TikTok teacher Mary Crippen, encourages children to track a team’s wins, losses and records as the NFL season progresses toward the playoffs.
The class, taught by co-teachers Nicolas Cocchiaro and Macie Fuscaldo, has also selected an overall class team to track during the season, with students opting to track the Buffalo Bills.
The class is tracking Bills quarterback Josh Allen on his route to 3,000 passing yards during the regular season, which Fuscaldo says is an engaging and interactive way for students to learn addition and subtraction.
Students compile weekly reports on their own teams as part of NFeLementary, while many have written to the NFL franchise they are tracking to tell them about the initiative, which helps with their reading and writing comprehension, Fuscaldo added.
It has not been one-way traffic either, with at least four teams responding to the letters with care packages for the class – to the thrill of each student.
“They’re so excited that teams are reaching out to our class and acknowledging us,” Fuscaldo said.
Teams to send packages to the school include the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans, with the Giants sending a one-in-a-thousand Giants-branded football for the 2025 season. Teams typically send a variety of memorabilia, including magnets and schedules.
Cocchiaro said the initiative has made students enthusiastic about their school curriculum while also making helping many students discover an interest in football.
“(Before the program) when we talked to them about football, there was maybe one kid who knew what football was,” Cocchiaro said.
Now, however, students come to school on a Monday morning excited to chat about the weekend’s action, he added.
“They know each other’s scores, they know each other’s players,” he said. “They come in every day and all they talk about is football.”
The two teachers believe NFeLementary has helped improve students’ social skills by encouraging them to talk to one another before and after class.
They also believe the program can be adapted on a school-wide scale, with younger classes tracking more simple statistic and older grades delving deeper into the minutiae.
Cocchiaro and Fuscaldo are also planning a class celebration for when Allen breaks the 3,000 passing yard hurdle and said they guided students toward picking the Bills because there is an excellent chance that Allen and Co. will make the playoffs this year.
Both teachers are anticipating that excitement levels will reach fever pitch if the Bills — or any other team that a student is tracking – reach the play-offs over the winter.
Fuscaldo added that she hopes to help students craft their own jerseys or T-shirts for play-off season. Meanwhile, the school’s gym teacher has already agreed to help students take advantage of their newfound football enthusiasm and learn how to play the sport.
“He’s going to be teaching the kids how to play football,” Fuscaldo said. “I would love if the kids could make their own jersey for their teams. Since they’re so expensive, we can’t get one individually for each kid, but hopefully they could design their own on a T-shirt.”
