Eat. Learn. Play. Partners with MasterClass to Provide 16,000 Memberships to Bay Area Educators and Administrators
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oakland, CA – May 25, 2023
Eat. Learn. Play. is honoring over 16,000 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) educators, nutrition service workers, principals, and administrative staff by providing them with memberships to MasterClass, the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the world’s best across a wide range of subjects. Eat. Learn. Play and MasterClass first partnered in 2022 to provide memberships to 5,000 OUSD staff. The organizations, with additional support from the San Francisco Education Fund, are tripling the impact this year by offering memberships to 11,000 staff from SFUSD.
Eat. Learn. Play was launched in 2019 by four-time NBA champion, two-time MVP Stephen Curry and entrepreneur, host and two-time The New York Times best-selling author Ayesha Curry. The organization is committed to ensuring educators have access to resources for their own personal and professional development. Since 2021, the foundation has partnered with DonorsChoose to fund over 2,000 elementary school teacher-led literacy projects in OUSD.
“Our teachers, educators, and administrative staff remain among our most resilient community heroes in facing the added challenges of the last three years,” said CEO of Eat. Learn. Play., Chris Helfrich, “Eat. Learn. Play. is grateful to partner with MasterClass to again celebrate their dedication to providing learning opportunities for the next generation as part of our ongoing efforts to provide resources that assist students and teachers in the Oakland, the Bay Area and beyond.”
“Having had a parent who was a teacher in the public school system, learning has been a way of life for me,” said Jeffery Smith, VP, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at MasterClass. “MasterClass is excited to partner with Oakland and San Francisco Unified School Districts to help unlock opportunities and open minds for this generation and for generations to come.”
"Graduation season is here in OUSD! It's a time when all the hard work of our students and staff is paying off, and they are looking forward to a welcome break," said Preston Thomas, OUSD Chief Systems & Services Officer. "It's also a time when we know staff get to focus more on their hobbies and other interests. It's the perfect time for them to receive this wonderful gift from Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation and MasterClass. When staff first received this access to the amazing MasterClass platform in the spring of 2022, they were so excited to take advantage of all the classes offered. We know they're excited again this year because of all they were able to learn last year, and how that knowledge helped them in their personal lives and in our schools. We appreciate this fabulous support from MasterClass and Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation for all OUSD staff members."
The San Francisco Education Fund, a nonprofit accelerator in San Francisco, is joining the collaboration effort this year alongside SFUSD to ensure teachers to have access to MasterClass memberships. “Our dedicated teachers and administrators work tirelessly to educate and inspire our children,” said Stacey Wang, San Francisco Education Fund CEO. “We are delighted to be part of this gratitude initiative that both shares our deep appreciation and returns to them opportunities for personal growth, fun, creativity and exploration.”
“We are fortunate to have so many wonderful teachers here in SFUSD who are masterful at their craft, constantly evolving as professionals," said SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne. "This generous gift provides even more opportunities for teachers to grow in their profession, and we are excited for this partnership between Eat. Learn. Play. and MasterClass to help us show our teachers just how important they are to their communities and to their students.” Recipients of the MasterClass annual membership will receive unprecedented access to the platform’s 150+ instructors and classes across a wide variety of fields, including Arts & Entertainment, Business, Design & Style, Sports, Writing and more.
"From a young age, it was instilled in me that education is the one thing that someone can’t take away from you," said David Rogier, Founder and CEO of MasterClass. “In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, MasterClass is excited to partner with Eat. Learn. Play to provide Oakland Unified School District teachers and staff free access to the MasterClass platform.”
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About Eat. Learn. Play.
Founded by Stephen and Ayesha Curry in 2019, Eat. Learn. Play. launched with a focus on improving the lives of kids and families in Oakland, the Bay Area, and across the country. Rooted in three of the most vital pillars for a healthy childhood — nutrition, education, and physical activity — Eat. Learn. Play. is working to ensure that every child in Oakland has access to the nutritious food they need to be healthy and thrive; resources to learn and read; and safe places and equitable opportunities to play.
About MasterClass
MasterClass is the streaming platform where the world’s best come together so anyone, anywhere, can access and be inspired by their knowledge and stories. With an annual membership, members get unprecedented access to 180+ instructors and classes across a wide variety of fields, including Arts & Entertainment, Business, Design & Style, Sports & Gaming, Writing and more. Step into Nas’ recording studio, Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen and go behind the big screen with James Cameron. Design your career with Elaine Welteroth, get ready to win with Lewis Hamilton, perfect your pitch with Shonda Rhimes and discover your inner negotiator with Chris Voss. Each class features about 20 video lessons, at an average of 10 minutes per lesson. You can learn and discover at a pace that best serves your lifestyle—in bite-size pieces or in a single binge, on mobile, tablet, desktop, Android™ TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku® players and devices. Cinematic visuals and close-up demonstrations make you feel like you’re one-on-one with the instructors, while the downloadable Class Guides help reinforce your learning. For those looking to learn by doing, Sessions by MasterClass offers a structured curriculum where members can roll up their sleeves, get hands-on and learn meaningful skills through step-by-step guidance from world-class instructors and an active community of peers. With MasterClass at Work, companies can keep their employees engaged and boost morale and motivation with immersive, short-form lessons from the world’s best.
Follow MasterClass:
Twitter @masterclass
Instagram @masterclass
Facebook @masterclassofficial
TikTok @masterclass
LinkedIn @masterclass
About Oakland Unified School District
In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 80 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career, and community success. To learn more about OUSD’s Full-Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.
About the San Francisco Education Fund
The San Francisco Education Fund is a nonprofit organization which mobilizes the San Francisco community to support equitable access to a quality education for public school students through learning acceleration programs, financial resources, mental wellness, and community support. The Ed Fund envisions a future where each and every San Francisco public school student has equitable access to quality education so that they can engage and enrich our collective community. For more information, visit www.sfedfund.org.
CONTACT:
Eat. Learn. Play.
Tom Dietz
tdietz@id-pr.com | C: 303-506-2228
Stephen Baruch
sbaruch@id-pr.com | C: 631-388-1367
MasterClass
Alyssa Bergerson, MasterClass
press@masterclass.com
Oakland Unified School District
John Sasaki
Communications Director
john.sasaki@ousd.org
San Francisco Education Fund
Meg Rahner
Association of Communications and Events
San Francisco Unified School District
HongMei Pang
Interim Head of Communications and External Affairs