Finding Connections to Our Kids, through E-Sports
Dear Colleagues:
On a recent Saturday 50 of our wonderfully sharp and talented students went head-to-head in the City’s first-ever, in-person Battle of the Boroughs e-sports tournament. Their challenge, straight from Mayor Eric Adams: Create the safest, most inclusive, future-ready city spaces using Minecraft Education, an online game in which players use blocks and creatures to reshape their landscapes.
New York City Public Schools launched the Battle of the Boroughs three years ago, in partnership with Microsoft and Minecraft Education, as a way to keep students engaged during remote learning. And we’re building on the power that e-sports have—like other enrichment activities–to create strong connections between schools and students. It’s one more way we’re reimagining the student experience to make school more relevant and meaningful to our kids.
The 2023 challenge launched in January in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. After making it through two rounds, 10 teams got to compete in the first-ever Mayor’s Cup, a day-long championship at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
There was electricity in the room right from the start of the competition. Some 450 spectators cheered the students on, bursting into applause as each team was introduced. TikTok influencers called “shout-casters” provided commentary as the teams took 45 minutes to, as Mayor Adams described: “build a city for everyone: a city safe for folks of different ages, backgrounds, and abilities.”
The Juniors prize (for kindergarten through fifth-grade teams) went to 58’s Shining Stars, an all-girls team from P.S. 58 The Space Shuttle Columbia School in Staten Island. Their winning “build” placed solar panels throughout the city to power buses, train tracks, and more. They built ponds stocked with fish to generate electricity and put oysters in drainage systems to refresh the city’s water supply.
Team Blockhampton from John Dewey High School in Brooklyn won the Seniors Division (grades 6-12) for their culturally inclusive “build,” which featured a free, fully accessible community center with charging stations for mobility devices and special pavement that absorbs water to protect against coastal flooding.
Congratulations to the winning teams and to everyone who participated in this year’s Battle of the Boroughs—which shows gaming’s potential as both a teaching tool and a rewarding career pathway. Today’s young gamer may just be the trailblazer who creates a safer, far better New York City for generations to come.
Soaring high,
David C. Banks
Chancellor
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