KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City Public School teacher is incorporating her love of the Chiefs into her classroom.
Nicole Heier is a teacher at Gladstone Elementary and is known to have math lessons centered around the team.
"It's not just a football game, there's also a lot of statistics and data involved in it and a lot of times the kids don't see that,” Heier said.
Heier moved to Kansas City 20 years ago and says her passion for the Chiefs started shortly after, and now that the Chiefs are in the Super Bowl, she wants to make sure her students understand it's a special moment for Kansas City.
"We cheer together, we get sad together, we watch the data together,” Heier explained. “It's just getting them excited about something in their hometown.”
Students also predict scores Friday before a Chiefs game day. While not every student is a Chiefs fan, Heier say it opens to door to friendly competition.
“Almost every Friday we make a prediction about who's going to win just for fun and whoever gets the closest gets candy,” Heier said.
The fifth grade math teacher says it’s a simple calculation; being part of Chiefs Kingdom adds excitement to going to school, and makes students feel like key players.
"I'm super lucky because I feel like no other teacher gets the chance to do this stuff, I'm proud of her,” student Bradley Cox said.
For Heier, it’s all about encouraging the students to work together as a team while cheering on a one-of-a-kind team.
"Football is community to me, it brings us all together for a good cause,” Heier said.
