Paradise Valley Unified School District students will have a new opportunity to explore esports as part of their high school coursework following governing board approval of new courses for the 2027-28 school year.
The board unanimously approved the course additions Nov. 5, including an esports offering initially proposed by Pinnacle High School.
District administrators said the course will be available for other high schools if they have qualified instructors and sufficient interest.
During the meeting, board member Sandra Christensen asked whether the new esports course would replace an existing class and whether other campuses could participate.
Chris Asmussen, a district administrator, said Pinnacle Peak initiated the proposal, but the course would become part of the district's broader course catalog.
"Right now, Pinnacle has expressed interest and has brought that course forward," Asmussen said.
Other high schools could offer the class if they have an instructor available to teach it, he said.
Christensen also asked whether the offering would replace another course.
"It's just an addition to the course offerings, and so we're not expecting to remove any other offerings," Osmussen said.
Board member Amanda Lim said she visited Pinnacle and discussed the esports proposal with school staff. She described the course as an opportunity to connect students' interests with future career possibilities.
Lim said the district's course offerings should help students prepare for different paths after graduation, including employment, higher education, military service and entrepreneurship.
She specifically identified entrepreneurship as a possible connection to esports.
District officials said students would be able to select the new course during scheduling for the upcoming academic year.
The board approved the new course offerings unanimously on Nov 4, following an initial presentation Oct. 22.
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Meet Stacy Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.
Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.
Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!
Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.
Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.
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