Page 22 - Superintendent Report 2023-24

eSports

The District’s eSports journey began in November 2019 when the Pew Foundation provided seed funding to pilot eSports at
three high schools: Boynton Beach Community HS, Glades Central Community HS, and Palm Beach Lakes Community HS.
Three more schools quickly saw its merit and signed on to join the pilot with their own programs: Jupiter Community HS,
Royal Palm Beach Community HS, and Eagles Landing MS.
Following the successful pilot and a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the District opened Scholastic eSports to all
schools in August of 2022. Since then, because of high levels of student engagement, interest in the program has grown
rapidly. As of the FY23 school year, 19 schools have an eSports designee and are at various stages of implementation.

The District's vision for Scholastic eSports has been to attract students who are typically less engaged in school and not
availing themselves of extracurricular opportunities. In this effort, the District is aligned very closely with the North America
Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) and its Florida affiliate, the Sunshine State Esports League (SSEL). Students
participate in professional league play with the Electronic Gaming Federation (EGF) among others.

eSports, along with the gaming industry, has grown to become a viable career path for students. It continues to surpass
traditional sporting industry markets, having revenues five times larger than the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL combined.
eSports provides students with the academic, technical, and social skills necessary to succeed in future STEM and non-
STEM postsecondary learning opportunities and careers. With colleges and universities recognizing the relevance of this
new field of study, more scholarship opportunities are becoming available for students. To date, students in Palm Beach
County have been offered over $100,000 of these scholarships to colleges all over the country.
In May 2022, Palm Beach Lakes Community HS received a follow-up grant from the Pew Foundation for $498,000 to fully
integrate Scholastic eSports into the school day. By the end of the grant, the school will have a four-year pathway through
their Digital Media Academy focused on the eSports industry. Palm Beach Lakes Community HS is working to be a model
school for Scholastic eSports at the high school level. The goal is to share the curriculum pathway and expand it to other
schools across the District and country. The newly opened West Boynton MS features the full gamut of eSports opportunities,
dedicating two Career Technical Education (CTE) labs to house the program.

The District’s eSports programs have been featured in numerous articles and publications, including the February
2023 edition of Palm Beach Illustrated and the February 2023 Technology in Motion for Education Newsletter from the
Information Technology Division. Julius Edwards, Palm Beach Lakes Community HS eSports coach, was named a Network
of Academic and Scholastic eSports Federations (NASEF) Fellow for the 2022-2023 school year, and is the Vice President
of SSEL.

22 // Superintendent Annual Report 2022 - 2023