A class that teaches the jobs behind esports
Students play, and they also run things: tournaments, live broadcasts, PCs and networks, budgets and sponsor pitches. It's a full school course. 18 weeks, 85 lessons, one credit, and your teacher can run it in your own classroom.
Built by people who have run esports centers for more than a decade.
Who are you, and what do you want to know?
The same course looks different from a kitchen table and from a principal's office. Pick the one that sounds like you.
The short version
It's a school class. Students learn how an esports tournament, a live broadcast and a gaming PC actually work, then they do those jobs themselves.
For every hour students spend playing, there's an hour of learning something they can use outside the game. They don't have to be good at games, and they don't need to know anything about computers. The course starts from zero.
- What they do: run a small tournament, call a match on camera, work out how a PC fits together, review a recording of their own play and write a pitch for a sponsor.
- What they come away with: things they can show people, like an event they planned or a broadcast they made, plus practice at working in a team and staying calm when things go wrong.
- What it isn't: free play time. It also isn't only for kids who want to go pro. Most of the careers it points to aren't playing.
How to get it at your school
The course is licensed to schools, districts and youth programs. If yours doesn't offer it, you can ask. A short, polite note from a parent works better than you'd think, and we wrote one you can copy.
What you get
A complete course you can put on the schedule: 85 lessons over 18 weeks, covering 12 skills, with the assessment and grading materials included.
It earns 1.0 credit as a semester or year-long elective, and students need no background. It runs in person, hybrid or fully remote, and it doesn't need special equipment.
- Where it fits: built for CTE pathways in Information Technology and Arts, Media and Entertainment.
- What's in the license: all 85 lessons, the skills matrix, assessment and grading materials, digital delivery with updates and email support. Larger plans add onboarding, training and a named account manager.
- What it costs: from $3,500 a year for one campus. See the plans.
- How schools pay: mostly CTE money. Here's how, or read the full funding guide.
Want the room, too?
The course works on the computers you already have. If you're building or upgrading a room, we design and equip that as well. See our esports lab, arena and lab retrofit pages.
Not a gaming club. A career pathway.
Most esports programs are after-school clubs with a screen and a bracket. This is a structured academic course, built by someone who has run esports facilities for over a decade. A textbook publisher didn't write it, and neither did a committee. It shows in the lessons, which are built around situations we really ran into.
CTE-aligned, not PE-adjacent
It fits Arts, Media and Entertainment and Information Technology pathways, and it's built to fit the funding CTE courses use, like Perkins V and, depending on your district's plan, Title IV-A. It's a course, not a club activity.
Built from real operations
Every lesson comes from more than a decade of running esports facilities. Students learn what really happens in the industry.
Teach it any way you can
In person, hybrid or fully remote, with the same lessons and the same outcomes in every format.
Works with what you have
It's designed to pair with a GameSync-built lab, and it runs fine on your existing technology. No proprietary equipment to buy.
Eight things you'd see in the classroom
The course covers 12 skills. This is what a few of them look like when students are doing them.
Run a tournament
Plan the bracket, set a budget, book the space and deal with whatever goes wrong on the day.
Tournament organizerSkills GS-2, GS-3Call a match live
Commentate on camera with a partner, with graphics and a producer behind you.
ShoutcasterSkills GS-11Work out how a PC fits together
Pick parts that work with each other and see how they become a computer.
IT supportSkills GS-9Set up a small network
See how data moves, what a streaming bitrate is and how to keep an account safe.
Network technicianSkills GS-10Review your own match
Watch a recording and say what really happened, with numbers to back it up.
AnalystSkills GS-5, GS-12Pitch a sponsor
Write a tournament proposal and a sponsorship deck, then present them.
Sports marketerSkills GS-1, GS-3Handle the heat
Stay calm, settle a dispute and be a decent teammate after a loss.
Team leaderSkills GS-7, GS-8Take care of your body
Posture, eyes, hands, breaks and sleep, for people who sit for hours.
Healthy habitsSkills GS-6Examples are drawn from the course outline. Each one connects to a skill number you can find further down the page.
One hour of play, one hour of learning
Every hour students spend gaming is matched with an hour of structured skill building. The four kinds of skill spell out T.E.A.M.
Play
Real matches, real teams, real stakes. This is the part students already like.
Learn
The skills behind it, practiced on a real task.
Technical proficiency
Hard skillsStudents move from using technology to understanding how it works. They configure networks, learn what a streaming bitrate is and work out which PC parts fit together.
Emotional intelligence
Soft skillsEsports is a high-pressure place, so we use the pressure on purpose. Students practice staying calm, settling conflicts, being gracious in victory and defeat and leading when the stakes feel real.
Analytical thinking
Thinking skillsModern games produce a lot of data. Students read it, solve strategy problems in real time and review recordings of their matches to judge performance fairly. Business analysts build the same habit.
Media and communication
Career skillsThe industry runs on content and clear communication. Students show speaking skills through live commentary, and writing skills through tournament proposals and sponsorship decks.
Pick a career pathway and see which skills it uses
A common idea is that esports education only prepares students to become pro players. It points to careers across the whole esports and technology world, and most of them are behind the scenes. The 12 skills below are the GameSync Competency Matrix, grouped by the industry, the athlete and the technology. Pick a pathway.
Pick a job above to highlight its skills, or read all 12 below.
The industry
The athlete
The technology
Written by people who ran esports centers
We ran an esports center in San Diego for more than a decade. Somebody had to schedule the events, fix the machines, run the broadcast, settle the arguments and keep the books, and most of those somebodies learned on the job.
The course is built from that list of jobs. It isn't a textbook publisher's idea of esports, and it wasn't written by a committee. It's the work we actually had to do, turned into lessons.
Beardsley School District
Bakersfield, CaliforniaThe first district to license the course, across three campuses. We designed, built and installed the gaming PCs, a server on a 25-gigabit network and the management software, and the license and on-site setup came with it.
YMCA Mission Valley
San Diego, CaliforniaThe first YMCA esports program in San Diego County. We validated and designed a dedicated Digital Studio for esports, coding and robotics, and it became the foundation for the program launch.
GameSync Esports Center
San Diego, CaliforniaOur own center, which we ran for more than a decade. It grew a community of 25,000+ members, hosted semi-pro teams, partnered with HyperX, Cloud9 and DXRacer and ran 450+ private events. It's the operational backbone of everything the course teaches.
Uptime Esports
Production facility consultingA production studio and competitive stage with live Twitch streaming, vMix and OBS, a bracket system and full-screen game capture. It's the technical benchmark the broadcast lessons are built on.
Most esports programs teach kids to play games. The SECP teaches kids to run the industry. There's a profound difference, and it's exactly what schools need.
Agragati Siegel, Founder and CEO, GameSync Consulting
License it by campus
The price is per year and depends on how many campuses will teach it. Every license includes all 85 lessons, the skills matrix, assessment materials and implementation support. Pick the size that matches yours.
Single campus
A good fit for a pilot or one school.
$3,500 per year
15% off when you renew before the license expires- All 85 lessons
- The 12-skill matrix, GS-1 through GS-12
- Assessment and grading materials
- Digital delivery and updates
- Email support
District, 2 to 5 campuses
The most common starting point for a district.
$8,500 per year
15% off when you renew before the license expires- Everything in the single campus plan
- Support for rolling out at several sites
- An onboarding call with our team
- Quarterly check-ins
- Priority email and phone support
District, 6 to 15 campuses
A full district rollout with the most support.
$15,000 per year
15% off when you renew before the license expires- Everything in the 2 to 5 campus plan
- On-site setup, if you want it
- A training session for your teachers or instructors
- Co-branding options
- A dedicated account manager
State and white-label
Larger or custom arrangements.
Custom pricing
15% off when you renew before the license expires- State-level licensing
- White-label licensing
- Multi-year agreements
- Implementation add-ons
State-level and white-label licensing, multi-year agreements and implementation add-ons are available. Contact us for custom pricing.
Built to be funded
The course fits career and technical education pathways in Information Technology and in Arts, Media and Entertainment, and its lessons are documented skill by skill. That makes it a good match for the funding streams schools use most. We can help you work out which ones apply to you.
Perkins V
Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education ActThe main federal source for CTE programs. It lines up with the Information Technology and Arts, Media and Entertainment pathways, and it can cover curriculum, equipment and teacher training when the purchase ties to your local needs assessment.
Title IV-A
Student Support and Academic EnrichmentFunds a well-rounded education and the effective use of technology. Depending on your district's plan, it may cover curriculum licensing, teacher training and student enrichment.
STEM and state grants
District and state programsThe course's network, hardware and digital production lessons also fit STEM and state CTE grants, such as California's CTE Incentive Grant, for technology-forward programs.
Every source, what it pays for and when to apply
Our funding and purchasing guide covers the sources above and more, with tools to rank your options and plan the paperwork.
Your CTE director owns your local plan and decides what is eligible. Your district submits the application.
Want this at your school? Send a note.
Schools hear about new classes from the people they serve. Fill in the blanks and copy the note, then send it to your principal, your CTE director or the teacher who runs the computer lab.
Straight answers
What is the Scholastic Esports Career Pathway?
It's an 18-week school course, with 85 lessons, that teaches the jobs behind esports. Students learn how events, broadcasts, PCs and networks work, and they practice those jobs. Schools call it SECP for short.
Is this just playing video games at school?
Students do play. For every hour of play there's an hour of structured learning, and the learning is the point. They plan events, work on broadcasts, read game data and practice working in teams.
Do students have to be good at games?
No. There are no prerequisites. The course is designed for complete beginners, including students with no computer science background.
How long is it, and does it earn credit?
It runs 18 weeks, with 85 lessons. It earns 1.0 credit as a semester or year-long elective.
What does a school receive?
All 85 lessons, the 12-skill matrix, assessment and grading materials, digital delivery with updates and email support. Larger plans add onboarding, training, quarterly check-ins and a dedicated account manager.
Does the school need special equipment?
No. The course works with the technology a school already has, and it doesn't lock you into any one brand of equipment. It pairs well with a gaming lab if you have one.
Can it be taught online?
Yes. It works in person, hybrid or fully remote.
Which careers does it point to?
Eight areas: competitive player, tournament organizer, shoutcaster, video producer, IT support, community manager, sports marketer and web and social media. The page above shows which skills each one uses.
Does it match our state's CTE standards?
It's built for CTE pathways in Information Technology and Arts, Media and Entertainment. Every skill is documented in the matrix, so your CTE director can map it to your state's standards. We're glad to help with that.
How do schools pay for it?
Most use CTE money, such as Perkins V or a state CTE grant. Title IV-A can help with training. See our funding and purchasing guide for the details.
What does it cost?
From $3,500 a year for one campus, $8,500 for 2 to 5 campuses and $15,000 for 6 to 15. Larger and statewide arrangements are custom. Renewals get 15 percent off when you renew before the license expires.
How fast can we start?
Many schools are up and running in weeks, not years. The course is ready to use, and it works with the technology you already have. Book a free consultation and we will talk through your timeline.
Can a parent buy it?
We license the course to schools, districts and youth programs. If you'd like it at your school, the note above is the best place to start.
Can you help us build the room too?
Yes. We design and equip esports labs and arenas, and we can upgrade an existing computer lab. See our esports lab, esports arena and lab retrofit pages.
Is the consultation free?
Yes. Tell us your vision and we will set up a free consultation to talk through your school and your goals. Detailed design work for a specific space, such as layouts, network and power planning and full equipment lists, is part of our paid consulting.
Tell us about your vision
Use the form below to tell us about your school and what you would like students to learn. We will set up a free consultation, help you find grant funding that fits and, for many schools, get you up and running in weeks, not years.
Or call 858-477-GAME (4263).
Request Your Free Consultation
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