The multi-week street hockey curriculum will be made available to all teachers starting in the 2019-20 school year.
The partnership was announced during MCPS's monthly media briefing with superintendent Jack R. Smith. Smith was joined by Capitals director of community relations Peter Robinson in making the announcement.
Following the media briefing, the Capitals hosted a street hockey assembly featuring the Capitals Hockey School programming presented by Capital One for College Gardens Elementary School fourth-grade students.
The programming, which will become a core unit in the physical education curriculum, is part of the Capitals' investment of more than $3.5 million toward the development of youth hockey in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., and is funded primarily by the National Hockey League's Industry Growth Fund (IGF).
The NHL and National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) established the IGF within the 2013 collective bargaining agreement to advance the development of youth hockey. The Capitals application was reviewed and approved last spring by a committee comprised on NHLPA and NHL officials.
During the 2015-16 season, the Capitals launched initial IGF Fund programming with DC Public Schools, introducing a hockey curriculum to more than 48,000 DCPS students across more than 110 schools.
In 2018-19, the Capitals launched a partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools to donate equipment and a physical education curriculum to introduce hockey to more than 75,000 students across more than 150 schools.
