Super Bowl XLV isn’t just about football. For citizens of North Texas it’s about showcasing our hometowns to the world. The event is a defining moment for its host community, and has immense economic and cultural repercussions for the area that remain long after the pretzels and hot wings are gone. 

The North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee has partnered with Big Thought to ensure that one of these immense repercussions involves and benefits North Texas’s youngest citizens. SLANT 45: Service Learning Adventures in North Texas is an historic youth education program that offers profound challenges and rewards to its young participants. SLANT 45 was named after an actual football play used by Daryl Johnston and Emmitt Smith for the Dallas Cowboys.

SLANT 45 will benefit from Big Thought’s nearly quarter century of experience in developing collaborative programs and projects with school districts throughout the region. Dedicated to making imagination a part of everyday learning, Big Thought is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit organizations focused on improving public education through creative learning. The combination of Big Thought’s well-deserved credibility and the Super Bowl’s undeniable appeal will create a winning team.

From now through through December 2010, in what will be one of the largest communitywide service-learning projects in U.S. history, an estimated 20,000 elementary-age students will log a combined 45,000 hours of service across North Texas that will change the face of the region for generations. These exceptional youngsters, representing all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds and every corner of North Texas, will undertake projects large and small. Some will assist those in need or beautify neighborhoods. Others might stage a play for fundraising purposes. A few may even undertake the development of a large-scale mural project simply because it lifts the spirit. Participating students and future leaders will take ownership of their communities and project a vision for the future that is optimistic in tone and inspirational in character.

Area school districts and private school systems are being enlisted to recruit groups of students and volunteers in communities across North Texas to participate in SLANT 45. Examples of these groups include neighborhood associations, church groups, classrooms and school clubs, PTAs, community-based organizations, Scouting troops, youth athletic teams and corporate affinity groups, to name a few.

Big Thought — a leading expert in developing collaborative educational programs with school districts throughout North Texas — designed and is managing the application process for participation in SLANT 45. Support materials have been developed to ensure that life skills are positioned and realized as learning outcomes within individual service-learning projects, and that creative reflection exercises are embedded in the experience. Tools include workbooks, thought-starters for idea generation, key questionnaires, etc., for the children and adult project leaders of individual service projects.  

A full-length feature film documentary is being shot to chronicle children as they move through their projects. The 90-minute feature will reflect their personal struggles and how their commitments and service ultimately impact their communities. The film will serve as an historical representation of the initiative and as a valuable resource to the NFL and future host committees long after Super Bowl XLV has been played.

After the hard work has been completed, it will be time to celebrate. The children who brought these unique projects to life will be invited to a special culminating event to be held in January 2011. More than 20,000 children and their adult leaders will join Big Thought and the Host Committee at a private celebration event where they will be congratulated for their accomplishments and celebrated for their commitment to their community.

No matter where the international media cameras are focused, they will capture images of communities enriched by children who decided to give of their time in order to make their neighborhoods a better place. Future generations of North Texans will learn the value of what can be accomplished through the efforts of many in service to others — a remarkable legacy for Super Bowl XLV and the citizens of North Texas.

What is service-learning?

Service-learning is a method of teaching through which students apply their academic skills and knowledge to address real life needs in their own communities.

Service-learning includes researching community needs, learning about the importance of civic participation, giving back to the community, reflecting, and demonstrating knowledge gained through participation.

Service-learning provides a compelling reason to learn, teaches the skills of civic participation and develops an ethic of service and civic responsibility. It increases motivation and retention of academic skills as specific learning goals are tied to community needs. By solving real problems and addressing real needs, students can authentically learn to apply classroom knowledge in a real world context, explore character education, develop life skills or pursue a host of other educational outcomes. At the same time, students are contributing valuable services to schools and communities.

Service-learning is a proven educational technique. The structured reflection and demonstration of learning that follows make service-learning a powerfully holistic technique with a wide range of benefits. Service-learning facilitates a student’s growth in academics, social maturity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and leadership skills. Students who are involved in meaningful service-learning perform better on tests, demonstrate a sense of self esteem and purpose, connect with the community, and want to be more civically engaged. They also are less inclined to be involved in negative behavior, more likely to graduate from high school and college, and have a greater sense of altruism to their communities.