Milwaukee Public Schools students are getting a crash course on the increasingly popular esports industry, as well as IT training, thanks to funding from the MPS Foundation.
Starting this week, 10th and 11th grade Milwaukee Public School students are taking a summer course that will help them develop an understanding of esports and learn several tech-related skills. Specifically, students will learn IT concepts and terminology, infrastructure, software development, security, and technology support skills.
This new class was designed by Brookfield-based New Horizons, an IT services and IT consulting firm. The company also supplied teachers for the class. MKE Esports Alliance is helping teach the esports components of the class and is providing industry experts. The MPS Foundation, a separate 501(c)3 that funds various initiatives and programs that support MPS families, is the sole organization that funded the class at a cost of $45,000.
“As strong STEM education supporters, we are proud to help make this class possible,” said Wendell Willis, MPS Foundation executive director. “We view this as just the beginning for esports education within MPS. Esports and online gaming is a rapidly growing industry, and our students deserve the opportunity to explore possible careers within it.”
Since 2018, when the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) first recognized esports as an official sport, more than 8,600 high schools have added it. MPS’ summer class has already reached full capacity.
