Here’s how esports will be part of some Delaware students’ curriculum this year

This is not your mom’s Back to School.

In the fall of 2022, with the help of Wilmington-based Futures First Gaming (FFG), A.I. du Pont High School (AIHS) converted a standard classroom into a colorful esports arena and launched an extracurricular gaming club.

This fall, A.I. will offer its first esports industry class as an elective designed in partnership with FFG. This is the next step toward becoming an official Pathway — part of Delaware’s signature public school career development programming that added hands-on education in areas like engineering, computer science, robotics, agriculture, digital communication technology and environmental science to district schools.

Futures First Gaming has partnered with AI HS for Esports and Academic Curriculum! Our Futures First Technology Careers Pipeline continues to expand. Stay tuned for more in the coming days!
The #pipelineisflowing #ffgontop Futures First start with Gaming! #esports #stemeducation pic.twitter.com/cioiwRBpIv

— FuturesFirstGaming (@Futures_First) November 14, 2022

The esports industry continues to grow: According to the 2021 Global Games Market Report, it’s predicted to reach nearly $220 billion in 2024, with Fortune Business Insights predicting a compound annual growth rate of 21% between 2023 and 2030. That’s a lot of developers, designers, marketers and content creators, just to name a few of the careers the industry needs.

Delaware may not yet be known as an esports hub, but Futures First Gaming is making a big mark on the industry.

Case in point: The other city to work with FFG and its career development program is Las Vegas — a definite esports hub that is launching an FFG pilot for middle school students in partnership with the city and Teach for America this fall.

“It’s part of the city’s workforce development initiative,” FFG CEO and cofounder Stephen Sye told Technical.ly. “We’re going to open the program up to 25 middle school students and hold the program at Eldorado High School in Las Vegas, because it’s a technology school with an esports lab.”

The Las Vegas students will do the programs three evenings a week starting in August and ending in October, learning skills that can transfer to the esports industry. This takes place against the backdrop of a city that is a growing US center of the esports spectator economy, with its HyperX facility and Michelob ULTRA Arena — where one of the world’s largest annual tournaments, Evolutionary Championship Series (EVO), has been held for a decade.

A Vegas presence is good for the FFG brand, which is why they sponsored and attended the Esports Business Summit in Las Vegas in 2021. Its staff made connections, including with an employee of the City of Las Vegas who focused on workforce development and growing an esports culture. In 2022, Sye was a panelist at the Summit, where he connected with Teach for America Las Vegas educator Mike Lang connections, including with educator Mike Lang with Teach America Las Vegas.

Ready for day 1 of the Esports Business Summit!#ffgontop pic.twitter.com/Qrvm5UMnOx

— FuturesFirstGaming (@Futures_First) October 18, 2021

Graduation from the Las Vegas program is slated for October 21, or World Esports Day. One of the instructors in that program, Hieu Van Le, was instrumental in the legislation recognizing the day in Las Vegas.

Back in Delaware, the FFG team will be working with AIHS digital media teacher Jamie Varsalona to map out a four-year esports Pathways experience, which they plan to submit to the State of Delaware in November.

From there, they hope other states get on board.

“Once it’s fully designed, it’s just adaptability across states and tweaking based on [the district’s] individual standards — it can be positioned as a pathway or it can be positioned as a supplemental curriculum,” Sye said.

In addition to the high school elective, FFG is continuing its partnership with Wilmington University’s esports and gaming-related programs, including a B.S. in Game Design and Development.