MAIZE, Kan., Sept. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- High School Esports League (HSEL), today is announcing a partnership with Complete High School Maize, one of the schools in the Kansas School District supporting and expanding the first district-approved gaming health curriculum: Gaming Concepts.
Michael Russell, a Social Studies teacher at Complete, is a lifelong gamer and the 2018 Making IT Happen Award Winner. Russell was inspired to build an in-school experience after working with the Principal of Complete High School, Dr. Kristy Custer, to compete in HSEL's competitive season. Custer, Kansas Principal of the Year in 2018, relished the opportunity to bring almost two decades of experience in education to help bridge the gap between non-gaming teachers and gaming students. The bridge to this gap became the unique curriculum of Gaming Concepts.
"As an administrator, I'm always looking for new ways to engage students in school," says Dr. Custer. "Online gaming is helping us achieve this goal. We are not reinventing the wheel here. Many, if not all of our students, are already spending time playing games. We are just providing some intentionality in the focus of what they are doing, as well as providing context where their gaming can support their academic and career goals in an engaging and creative way."
Gaming Concepts promotes healthy gaming habits in multiple areas. First, students learn interpersonal and problem-solving skills by working in teams to overcome in-game obstacles. Second, students practice appropriate online behavior strategies. One new addition to this year's course is an exercise and food log that students use to track his or her nutrition and physical activity.
The course has made a major impact on the students involved when trialed in the Kansas school district. Attendance rates for the course were at 94 percent, well above Dr. Custer's stated goal of 85%, while average GPA for students enrolled spiked 1.5 points above the average for the school.
"Educators need to use every tool at their disposal to keep students coming to school," says Michael Russell, Social Studies teacher at Complete High School. "This means not only being present, but also participating. The Gaming Concepts curriculum accomplishes that goal. Students in Gaming Concepts are writing, speaking, problem-solving and socializing on a daily basis. In other words, they are learning!"
Complete High School Maize will run Game Concepts classes again in the 2018-2019 school year. The school aims to work with HSEL to help other schools in its district and beyond adopt the curriculum.
HSEL's Fall Major season begins on October 2nd and registration is open until September 28th. Any high school in North America interested in partnering with HSEL and learning more about the Game Concepts curriculum can email partner(at)highschoolesportsleague.com for more information.
High School Esports League (HSEL)
The High School Esports league is the largest and longest-running Esports league for high school students in North America. HSEL's goal is to give every high school student the chance to play their way to a better life. HSEL has over 1100 partnered high schools in its network, with partnership requiring faculty endorsement and administrative approval to compete. HSEL has collaborated with several collegiate and recruiting organizations to develop the strongest recruiting pipeline in high school Esports, which has helped a network of almost 50 recruiters award over $9 million in varsity Esports scholarships last year. The scholarship awards and the recruiter network are both expected to double in the 2018-2019 season.
SOURCE High School Esports League
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