More K–12 Schools Expand Esports to Middle and Younger Grades

By July 2022, esports was up and running at Modesto. The district used surplus pandemic-era funding to purchase the Lenovo Legion line of gaming PCs, mice, headsets and keyboards for every junior high and high school; shoutcasting desks and equipment; two Nintendo Switch consoles for each elementary school; and gaming servers and software.

Middle School Esports Programs Set Students on the Pro Pathway

From the beginning, Modesto’s vision was to have a comprehensive program tailored to each age group. However, a growing number of other districts that originally focused on high school esports are now expanding to younger grades.

In part, that’s because districts approach esports like any other sport, with a junior varsity pipeline helping middle schoolers learn teamwork, sportsmanship and social-emotional skills as they work toward varsity-level competition. Middle school programs also recognize that esports can be a pathway to scholarships and careers in game design, video production, team management and other areas.

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“They’re seeing the success of the kids and the outcomes that are happening in high school and realizing it would be great to push that down to middle school,” says Dr. Michael Russell, president of education and esports integration at Generation Esports.

Generation Esports hosts high school and middle school leagues and develops scholastic esports curricula. Topics for middle schoolers might include using a Gantt chart for project planning or the importance of sleep and nutrition.

“We call scholastic esports chocolate-covered broccoli,” Russell says. “The gaming gets the kids interested, but through the game, they’re learning real-world skills.”

Early Esports Exploration Helps Build Computer and Other Skills

When districts expand esports, they often incorporate a more robust career and technical education (CTE) layer at the same time. Classes and tournaments provide opportunities for students to explore diverse roles.

Four hundred miles south of Modesto, the Palm Springs Unified School District is leading a regional effort to grow junior high and high school esports. Educational Technology Coordinator Bhavini Patel says Educational Technology Information Services Director Will Carr created the Desert Valley Esports Alliance and invited nearby districts to join, with plans to eventually host interdistrict competitions.

“Will and I have shared how we do teacher stipends, how we get the gaming rooms — all that we’ve learned and built,” she says. “We’ve shared in the hope of helping other districts.”

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PSUSD offers esports at all of its middle, high and alternate education schools, with middle schoolers playing Super Smash Bros., League of Legends and Rocket League. Last year, the district piloted a Minecraft Education lab at two elementary schools. It emphasizes CTE, including a Business of Esports elective class for middle schoolers. A new esports arena, set to open this year, will include a CTE hub as well as shoutcasting and streaming capabilities.

“A student might not be a gamer, but if they like digital arts and media, they could do the graphics for the team logos,” says Patel. “Providing opportunities for students in various areas is a huge goal of ours.”

At Modesto, roughly 1,647 students in grades three through 12 have participated in esports in 2024, a 35% increase over last year. The district’s junior high program competed in Rocket League during its first in-person tournament in May and offers Fall Guys, Brawlhalla and Roller Champions for social gaming. High schoolers have a team league and open labs, and elementary schoolers play esports as an after-school option.

DIG DEEPER: Scholastic esports programs nurture STEM careers.

High school competition includes games such as Overwatch 2, League of Legends, Rocket League and Valorant. In addition, Minecraft, Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. are available for social play across elementary, junior high and high schools levels.

Ketchum says the next step is to integrate esports into existing CTE offerings, such as video game design and computer science classes.

“They’re starting to see that there’s a larger scope to this for skills, for careers, for higher academic teams to be involved with,” Ketchum says. “That’s been important.”

Putnam County Schools Trial Junior High Team

In Florida, the Putnam County School District launched esports in 2021 with a high school club that quickly became a competitive powerhouse. By 2023, computer science teacher Chris Cantrell — a former esports pro — had coached the team to a national championship.

Last year, as a trial run for an official junior high team, Cantrell helped a handful of middle schoolers compete in Super Smash Bros. and Brawlhalla. This year, he’ll coach seventh and eighth graders at all four junior high schools.

“The junior high team is a good pipeline into the high school program,” Cantrell says. “It gets them ready and prepared in terms of the logistics they have to do and understand.”

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He also teaches an esports class in which students practice a variety of skills with applications beyond gaming. One of the projects includes learning how to use a budget to create a new esports organization.

This year, PCSD will offer esports to more junior high students, says Director of Information Services Lenon Harvey. It will also open The Cove, a micro-arena with 10 computers that will host intradistrict meets. Cantrell modeled it after university-style facilities so players can get familiar with that environment and nonplayers can participate in other ways, such as being commentators at the streamcasting station.

Surprising Ways Schools Fund Their Esports Programs

Ketchum says he was “very lucky” to receive full support from his district, including funding. But he emphasizes that a steep investment isn’t necessary.

“In the beginning, you don’t need expensive equipment,” he says. “A lot of these games can run with just a certain level of graphics card.”

Generation Esports’ Russell agrees. He says that while schools need to allow for adequate power and outlets, their networks are likely sufficient if they don’t plan on streaming. In addition, districts that offer scholastic esports can often qualify for funding through programs related to CTE and social-emotional skills, Russell says.

WATCH: An inclusive esports arena helps gamers grow connections.

At PCSD, initial funding for 10 gaming computers came from the IT department, which asked Cantrell to recommend specs, Harvey says; the computers are also used for general purposes.

In Palm Springs, esports was partly funded by the district’s nonprofit foundation, which supports innovative educational initiatives. The district also kept costs down by having clubs use the ViewSonic interactive displays that were already in classrooms. Carr and his department built the gaming computers in-house, says Patel.

Esports Players Learn Teamwork, Sportsmanship and Belonging

Anecdotally, many students who play esports aren’t involved in other extracurricular activities. At Modesto, that was true for 79% of the players, Ketchum says.

“That really stands out to all of us,” he says. “Esports is attracting hard-to-reach students who were not participating.”

That sense of belonging can be invaluable in middle school, especially at districts like PCSD, where the junior high and high schools are combined, Harvey says. “It helps those seventh and eighth graders who are trying to find their place at a new school,” he says.

The draw may be social, but coaches say players also learn teamwork and sportsmanship, such as how to coordinate a strategy or the right way to support a teammate who makes a mistake.

“A lone wolf will not win,” Ketchum says. “They do have to work together to make a winning team.”

His data shows that esports improves academics too, which is another reason districts are eyeing it for middle schools. At Modesto, between the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years, attendance increased more than 2.7% for junior high esports players. For students who used the high school esports open lab, which has academic requirements, the average GPA increased from 2.80 to 3.04.

“Any of these games, they can play at home online. But coming together is a whole new element,” he says. “They’re excited to be there.”