Teens are all about gaming. In 2018, the Pew Research Center reported that 97% of teen boys and 83% of teen girls played video games. Some of these teens are involved in school sports and clubs. Many, however, are not. By offering esports as an extracurricular activity, schools reach students who often are otherwise disengaged from the school community. Esports in schools can transport these kids from the solitary world of digital gaming into the common space of the school computer lab or library commons. These otherwise uninvolved students join the ranks of their successfully involved peers: More likely to be engaged during classes. More likely to graduate. More likely to aspire to higher education. And less likely to suffer and spread the harms of feeling out of sync with their school community.
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