The Rancho Santa Fe School District is exploring adding esports to its after-school offerings in the next school year.

For those not in the know, esports or electronic sports is organized competitive video gaming—it’s now a CIF-sanctioned sport. For the after-school program, the district is considering a partnership with the Unified ESports League. According to founder and CEO Matthew Iske, United Esports uses gaming as a launchpad to help kids who spend too much time on their iPads or Nintendo Switches, helping to get them out of their rooms and engaging with peers, developing teamwork and communication skills, and exploring technology fields.

Locally, Unified ESports has programs at Mission Estancia in the Encinitas Union School District and schools in the San Diego and Poway Unified School Districts.

United Esports will supply all of the funding to transform a R. Roger Rowe School classroom into a gaming center with consoles, gaming chairs and framed esports jerseys on the wall from colleges such as UC San Diego and Georgia Tech, who field esports teams. As esports can be a way to help students with special needs, the program is offered free for clients of the San Diego Regional Center, which provides services to people with developmental disabilities.

All students who love gaming will also be able to join the program for a cost, opting to come a couple of times a week or daily after school.

During a presentation before the board on June 17, Iske said the games that the kids play during structured play sessions are selected with intention. Nothing involves violence; students play games such as Super Smash Bros., NBA2K, Madden NFL, League of Legends or a game called Overcooked! that simulates the experience of running a restaurant and working as a team. Kids also explore drone piloting and driving simulators, artificial intelligence, and can learn how to use tech to make art and music.

As Iske explained, the two-hour program also includes daily communication goals and a physical health and wellness curriculum —students learn how to have a healthy relationship with technology through the benefits of good posture, physical activity and nutrition: “You have to have a healthy mind and body to be a good gamer,” he said.

According to research conducted by UC Irvine, Iske said schools that employ esports programs can see as much as a 10% increase in school attendance and a 1.6 % improvement in student GPA.

Board members like Annette Ross were a little hesitant about the program, given just this school year they passed a new policy prohibiting electronic signaling devices from being out and on during the school day. Board Vice President Kerry Vinci said that his heart is in encouraging students to get outside.

Superintendent Kim Pinkerton said as an educational institution, they are always looking to provide a wide variety of after-school options for kids to learn, whether they are an athlete, artist or into robotics, which shares some similarities with esports.

“We’re providing an opportunity for students who have individual needs to be able to have interaction with peers and access to a safe environment where they can learn and learn safely…what it means to utilize (technology) for fun or work,” Pinkerton said.

Pinkerton said the contract will be brought back before the board for approval at a future board meeting.