Global esports organization Gen.G Esports announced Thursday that it has partnered with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), the Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center, and Elk Grove Unified School District in Sacramento to extend and expand its eight week after-school program for K-12 students called the Generational Gaming Academy.
Originally launched in South Korea, and run as a pilot program last fall at select schools in the district, Gen.G said in a release that Generational Gaming Academy has been refined and adapted to support even more children in the Sacramento area.
Using gaming and esports as a focus point to drive engagement and interest, the curriculum created by Gen.G encourages the development of “core soft skills such as communication, leadership, and teamwork,” with content tailored to age groups within the K-12 range, according to a release.
Approximately 60 students from Edward Harris, Jr. Middle School and Monterey Trail High School participated in the program in fall 2022. Now, additional Sacramento schools will join the program, including Florin High School, Will C. Wood Middle School, and James Rutter Middle School, with more than 100 students expected to participate.
SMUD will continue its partnership with Gen.G to launch “additional sustainable community modules within this scholastic gaming program in 2023,” including providing students the opportunity to complete an integrated curriculum that aims to teach students about environmental stewardship, and energy consumption, among other important topics and themes.
Gen.G is no stranger to education initiatives at schools and universities in the United States; In March it partnered with the Black Collegiate Gaming Association (BCGA) and franchised fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s for the HBCU+ College netWORK Summit. Prior to that, it worked with the University of Kentucky and the Gen.G Foundation, a 10-year, $1M USD commitment to help foster the development of future gaming and esports industry leaders through partnerships with universities in the United States that was announced in 2020.
