As Spring ISD gears up for the 2024-2025 school year, many parents are telling their kids to shift from a summer of video games to focus on grades. But, for a group of high schoolers, part of their grades will involve those very games. 

Starting this fall, Westfield High School is partnering with Lone Star College Houston North to launch a new CTE pathway in eSports Management to prepare students interested in pursuing careers within the growing industry.

Due to its burst in popularity, the concept of eSports is still new to many. Essentially, eSports are video games played in a highly organized, competitive environment, whether they’re team-oriented multiplayer games, first-person shooters, or virtual reconstructions of physical sports. It started in South Korea during the early 2000s, and the Korean government quickly realized the market opportunities available and invested in making eSports a popular part of Korean society that soon took off across the world.

Several parents might remember growing up with video games, but be baffled at the new industry. Dr. Matt Pariseau, chief of innovation and student success within the district, shares this sentiment. 

“I was a big gamer, and I loved gaming,” he said. “However, there weren’t a lot of job opportunities in that.” 

Things have changed, though. The industry has grown substantially, so this year there’s expected to be $3 billion generated from it. Additionally, during the backdrop of an eSports World Cup in Riyadh, the International Olympic Committee announced plans to launch a video gaming Olympics next year. More and more people want a slice of the eSports cake. So, aligning with part of the district’s mission of preparing students for career success,  this pathway offers a unique opportunity for students to take advantage of a thriving industry. 

Thanks to a $178,398 grant awarded by the Texas Workforce Commission, one of only 42 given across the state, Spring ISD kickstarted the innovative program. 

“Bringing opportunities such as a new eSports pathway to our students in Spring ISD opens the door for even more students to find a successful career as they graduate,” Dr. Lupita Hinojosa, Spring ISD superintendent, said. “With partners such as the Texas Workforce Commission working with us, we truly are unstoppable in our goals to ensure innovative pathways for our students.”

The new pathway will cover a multitude of eSports options, including event planning, game design and development, and business management – all while allowing students to earn their Associate of Applied Science degree through the partnership with LSC-Houston North. 

“We have crosswalked the Spring ISD courses to match the Lone Star College courses so that our students will be doing dual credit,” said Cynthia Williams, Spring ISD’s director of CTE. 

As students advance in the program, they’ll take courses such as business, marketing, and finance on the high school side and intro to game design and development on the college side.

Dr. Jarvis Goodman, assistant professor of eSports courses at LSC-Houston North Fallbrook, expressed his and Lone Star College’s excitement to provide students with this opportunity.

“Seeing and mentoring these young adults and making sure they pursue their dreams,” is what Goodman hopes to continue doing as SISD students begin the program.

The pathway will equip students with specific skills and a degree to start working in the multifaceted field. The possibilities go beyond gaming, said Dr. Eric Tingle, director of strategic innovation in the district. 

“As a parent, it’s important to know that there is a curriculum in place; it’s important to know that there is a partnership with a college in place, and it’s important to know that we’re going to provide students with oversight,” Tingle said.

Students will still take their core courses like English and science. The program will not replace graduation requirements, but rather, supplement them, Tingle reassured while encouraging parents to contact him or the CTE department if they had questions.

The pathway will accept its first cohort of 25 freshman students from Westfield through an application process. During the first two weeks of classes, the CTE department will reach out to students in the business management pathway to draw a diverse cohort. When asked which students should look into the program, Tingle said it’s not set to a particular student, just any student looking to pursue a field that’s changing the world.

The pathway will also be a great opportunity for students with physical disabilities who might otherwise be unable to participate in traditional sports. Regardless of a student’s physical abilities, through eSports, they can “play for that love of sports competitively with other students around the Houston area and the world,” Pariseau said. “Just like our athletes who participate on the field can get scholarships and make careers out of it, students can do the same through eSports.”

The cohort might seem small, but Williams assures there will be other ways for students to get involved. Tingle helped secure a $30,395 donation from International Game Technology, a global gaming company, to fund and provide materials for a new eSports lab. 

“We’re going to have it where students who are not selected through the application process […] will have the opportunity to utilize the eSports lab,” Williams said. 

That’s just the start, though. As the first cohort advances and learns enough, Williams hopes that they’ll be able to coordinate tournaments. This will open the possibilities to not only afterschool activities but also allow the lab to be a gaming hub that brings in students across, and outside, the district. 

Additionally, for students attending other high schools within the district but interested in the pathway, there is an option to submit a request to transfer to Westfield. 

The program is another example of the many ways the district continues listening to students and the community; providing innovative ways to set students up for success, and if students are doing what they love, then all the better. 

“These are things that keep students interested in school,” Williams said, “and then they will graduate and go on to be college and career-ready.”