Brighton Academy’s Wolfpack Gaming Club Creates New Social Outlet
“Gamers today, engineers tomorrow.”The message appears on screens throughout the computer lab at Brighton Academy as students in the school’s new gaming club log on to the EliteGaming Live platform.
About 45 students in grades 6-8 meet for the Wolfpack Gaming Club through the school’s after school programming. First, they complete an academic component – learning about game design, story development, and more. They’re quizzed at the end of each lesson, and then ranked through the EliteGaming Live platform. Then, they’re free to game – taking part in competitions where they can earn gear and gift cards through their attendance and participation.
“I’m a gamer – I’ve played video games my entire life,” Brighton Academy Dean of Students Tamara Willis explained of what led her to start the group in the middle school. “Our kids who don’t want to do sports or the arts… they still need avenues to be involved. This opens up a whole new world to them! It gives them a social outlet, a reason to come to school and participate – even exposure to new career paths.”
Thanks to support from Advanced Student Resource Systems (ASRS), the school received contributions to assist with purchasing the gaming systems and computers, as well as the curriculum and educational resources – and even gear like club hoodies.
“Technology is not going anywhere,” Ms. Willis acknowledged. “We might as well embrace it!”
“I like to play MarioCart, so I joined to give me a chance to play more,” 6th grader Imavianna Balitz said. “Coming to school is fun now because I get to do this. We’ve learned all about gaming – engineering, game writing, game artistry, sound design, game programming, and more. It’s just a hobby for me, but it’s fun.”
“I play games at home so I thought why not play here,” 7th grader Javonte Britt added. “Being in the gaming club makes me behave differently because you have to be good to be able to do the after school program. I get to come here, talk to my friends, and play games. I have a lot of the equipment at home, but it’s fun to be able to play together here.”
Ms. Willis noted that the curriculum students study each day is a sneaky way to help them improve in their academic areas as well – pointing out the reading comprehension exercises and ties in to ELA topics. But mostly, she said, the best improvement she’s seen has been in students expanding their comfort zones. She pointed to one student, chatting away to a classmate, quietly sharing that most in the building have never heard that student talk. The comfort of the gaming club quickly helped the student feel comfortable expressing their thoughts.
To keep the club fresh, Ms. Willis shared surveys with current Brighton Academy students – as well as 5th grade McKinley-Brighton students who will soon be attending the school – to gauge what types of games they’re interested in playing. She tailors her wish list and purchases accordingly.
Moving forward, Ms. Willis looks forward to growing the club from its current meeting space in a school computer lab to the building’s STEM Center. Next school year, the group hopes to meet in the school’s old planetarium, which will soon become a complete gaming space. We can’t wait to see the paths that the Wolfpack Gamers will take as their skills continue to develop!
