Boston Celtics and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Inspire Students with Real-World Math Content, Launch Second ‘SCORE with Go Math! Academy’ Challenge

BOSTON – Global learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) and the Boston Celtics today launched their second online math challenge for New England schools, SCORE with Go Math! Academy and the Boston Celtics, based on a special basketball-themed version of HMH’s Go Math! Academy.  SCORE, which debuted in Spring 2015, is an original series of math problems and videos, starring Celtics center-forward Tyler Zeller and mascot Lucky the Leprechaun, that illustrate key math concepts, like geometry and measurement, using in-action examples from the basketball court.

SCORE with Go Math! Academy and the Boston Celtics is available via web portal for teachers and parents of students in grades three through five in all public, private, parochial and charter schools within 75 miles of TD Garden in Boston. Students will be challenged to solve five engaging basketball-themed math problems developed by HMH learning architects. On completion, parents and/or educators can enter on their student’s behalf to win an in-school visit from Lucky and a Celtics player, as well as class tickets to a Celtics home game.

Collicot Elementary School in Milton, Mass. won the Spring SCORE challenge and received a visit from Celtics’ forward Kelly Olynyk and Lucky, along with HMH’s Tom Hamilton, as part of a school-wide assembly on the importance of math in everyday life.

“We are proud to launch the second installment of the SCORE with Go Math! Academy initiative,” said Celtics Team President Rich Gotham. “This collaboration between HMH and the Celtics provides students with educational, basketball-themed content in an exciting and interactive way.”

Built on the proven success of HMH’s GO Math! curriculum, used by more than seven million elementary school students in the US, Go Math! Academy is an online learning tool which provides kids with a fun way to catch up, keep up, or get ahead in math — both at home and in the classroom.  Using rewards and incentives to encourage independent math practice, the tool builds confidence and skills in a self-paced environment and provides students with an engaging and entertaining way to extend learning beyond the school day.

“At Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, we know that dynamic, engaging learning tools and content are also the most effective,” said Mary Cullinane, Chief Content Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs, HMH. “The SCORE collaboration brings math to life in a way that is especially relevant for local students, and we’re thrilled to work again with the Celtics to deliver this inspiring, fun content.”

SCORE builds upon a long-term partnership between Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and the Boston Celtics to promote literacy in schools throughout the city, through co-sponsorship of the Read to Achieve program and other collaborations. The partnership is an integral local element of HMH’s global corporate social responsibility program, dedicated to improving PreK-12 student outcomes in under-resourced communities.

The SCORE sweepstakes begins at 12:00 AM ET on November 10, 2015 and ends at 11:59 PM ET on December 11, 2015. Click here to learn more about the sweepstakes and for a full list of rules and regulations.  

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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (NASDAQ:HMHC) is a global learning company dedicated to changing people’s lives by fostering passionate, curious learners. As a leading provider of pre-K–12 education content, services, and cutting-edge technology solutions across a variety of media, HMH enables learning in a changing landscape. HMH is uniquely positioned to create engaging and effective educational content and experiences from early childhood to beyond the classroom.  HMH serves more than 50 million students in over 150 countries worldwide, while its award-winning children's books, novels, non-fiction, and reference titles are enjoyed by readers throughout the world. For more information, visit www.hmhco.com.

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A charter member of the Basketball Association of America (which evolved into the National Basketball Association) since 1946, the Boston Celtics have won a record 17 NBA Championships, including eight (8) in a row from 1959-1966, winning their first title in 1957 and their most recent in 2008. The Celtics have long stood for equality, and respect, including hiring the first African American Coach and starting the first all black starting five. In addition, 39 former Celtics players, management or staff have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In December 2002 the team returned to local ownership for the first time since 1963. For more information on the Celtics, visit www.celtics.com.

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