DIRECTV and FOX Host 'Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader' Event for Denver Students

Jun 15, 2015 11:30 AM ET
Campaign: K-12 Education

DIRECTV and FOX partnered to bring the concept of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader to life for 165 students at University Prep Elementary School (U Prep) in Denver during the last week of the 2014-2015 school year.

This event celebrated the school’s success with ST Math – a math blended learning software program implemented at U Prep thanks to a 2014 grant from DIRECTV.

Each of the five student contestants had a ‘helper’ panel consisting of five classmates who they could turn to for assistance with the toughest questions. In between rounds, host Glenn Thayer gave the audience the opportunity to answer math questions for the chance to win prizes. 

Fourth-grader Nakina Johnson proved that she is definitely smarter than a fifth grader after correctly answering all of the questions in her round and the tie-breaking final round. As the grand-prize winners, Nakina and her panelists each received Ozobots, a small programmable robot designed to teach kids about robotics. All students received DIRECTV pencil cases and Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader t-shirts.

Click here to read a special, behind-the-scenes blog post about the event written by DIRECTV employee Steve Demedis.