By Jeannine Fielding, Bucks County Herald- February 1, 2024
Centennial District Explores Confluence of Gaming, Education
A new cooperative agreement called “Level Up” is taking high school students’ passion for gaming and turning it into both a competitive sport and a career path, said Centennial School District Superintendent Dr. Dana T. Bedden and Metro Esports CEO Shaon Berry, at a Jan. 23 school board meeting.
The program, aimed at “engaging our students and meeting them where they are,” they said, is a combined effort among Centennial’s William Tennent High School, the Warminster Branch of the YMCA of Bucks and Hunterdon Counties and Metro ESports, of Warminster.
The William Tennent students currently participating in the program are not only learning how to compete and engage with one another, but they are also participating in internships through ExcitED, another partner with Metro Esports. Co-founders Steve Beal and Ignacio Jayo offer paid internships to students interested in gaming design or computer science. The internships provide “ready skills in content marketing and social media skills,” said Jayo, and also provides them the opportunity to learn “soft-skills that will put them ahead of their peers when they look for other internships or career opportunities.”
