Pew funding – At Palm Beach Lakes High School, the Scholastic Esports Academy has grown from a small club into a full CTE program, and a Pew Foundation investment nearly $500,000 is helping shift it into a daytime classroom built around Minecraft, streaming and project-base
When a classroom runs short on computers, updated software, and the tools students can actually use, the damage isn’t always loud. For some students, the missing equipment turns into a message: maybe their education, and their potential, don’t matter.
Julius Edwards has seen that doubt take hold—especially in under-resourced schools.. Now. as leader of the Palm Beach Lakes High School Scholastic Esports Academy in the Five Carat Choice Program. he’s trying to replace that message with something sturdier: reliable technology. projects that match students’ interests. and a classroom setup where building skills feels real.
The academy’s trajectory over the last five years is part of the argument.. What began with ten students has expanded to more than five hundred. operating both during the school day and after school. and evolving into a full CTE academy.. Students pursuing the four-year pathway can earn four to five industry certifications along the way.
Edwards credits both the learning model and the learning environment.. “In my role… I have watched how access to quality equipment and meaningful project-based learning transforms students from the inside out. ” he said. adding that the goal is not only academic outcomes but how students start to see themselves.
Partnerships with organizations such as Cleverlike Studios have been central to how that model works in practice.. In one example described by Edwards. students learned how to create new characters for Minecraft and designed custom esports jerseys for their Minecraft characters.. The work is tied to broader skills—coding, digital media, and game design—through projects students recognize as their own.
Instead of treating gaming as a detour, the program uses it as the entry point.. Scholastic esports. Edwards said. merges the video game industry’s appeal with project-based learning and education objectives. drawing students toward STEM subjects that include gamification. digital media. robotics. and financial literacy.
The push to move from club to classroom gained a major boost from the Pew Foundation, which invested nearly $500,000 to expand infrastructure and transform the program from an after-school club into a full daytime classroom experience.
With the upgrade, Edwards said students walk into an esports space built around what they already care about: “powerful gaming computers” and “professional streaming equipment,” along with projects that reflect their language of interest rather than abstract worksheets.
The reported outcomes are focused on student behavior and attendance.. In FY23. Palm Beach Lakes High School used a Pew Grant to launch the esports course and compared outcomes with a matched group of students.. Students who participated in esports had significantly lower rates of in-school or out-of-school suspension. with about half as many incidents as their non-esports peers.. Absenteeism among esports students was also slightly lower.. Edwards noted that while GPA and certification pass rates were similar, the behavioral improvements were clear and meaningful.
Those shifts also show up in daily classroom observations, according to Edwards.. Students who once struggled to stay engaged, he said, begin to arrive early for practice and stay late to collaborate.. He also described a change in how students work with one another—showing respect and teamwork that continues into other classes.
For students in a Title I school. Edwards argues. the technology and structured projects serve a deeper purpose: turning abstract learning into hands-on work students can see. touch. and create.. The program is designed so that students don’t just consume digital media—they build it. adapt it. and present it.. And for many, he says, that’s the difference between noticing what’s missing and imagining what’s possible.
Student Alyssa Chavez put that experience into her own words after participating in a jersey-design assignment tied to Minecraft.. She said: “Last year, we completed an assignment to design a jersey for our esports teams to wear on Minecraft.. The Esports Jersey assignment was very helpful and even inspiring to me because it helped me learn to adapt and appeal to the suggestions and requirements that a client or partner would want me to apply to a project.. The use of the Blockbench program helped me to understand the importance of knowing how to navigate and use a program to do my best work for certain projects.. When making the jersey. I took the elements and colors of our ‘Retro Rams’ branding and applied them to the jersey to create a design that represents unity and teamwork. showcasing the unity of our esports team.”
Edwards frames scholastic esports as more than games. He describes it as a bridge between curiosity and opportunity—an approach intended to give students in under-resourced communities both the confidence to dream bigger and the tools to make those dreams real.
The academy’s growth. Edwards says. is evidence that when education is supported with vision. dedication. and the right resources. students rise.. Alongside partners like Cleverlike Studios. the program is built to connect classroom lessons to real-world applications—through coding challenges. game design projects. and digital media activities—while aiming to prepare students for education and career pathways in areas tied to the digital workforce.
scholastic esports Pew Foundation Palm Beach Lakes High School CTE academy Julius Edwards Cleverlike Studios Minecraft student engagement industry certifications streaming equipment Blockbench suspensions