Last week, CUSD’s Superintendent Darin Brawley and STEAM Administrator Alvaro Brito accepted the 2023 Golden Bell Award for the Compton Unified Esports League (CUEL) Initiative at the CSBA Golden Bell Awards at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square in San Francisco.
Awarded by California School Boards Association (CSBA), the Golden Bell Awards reflect the depth and breadth of education programs and governance decisions supporting these programs that are necessary to address students’ changing needs.
The Compton Unified Esports League (CUEL) Initiative is called “From Games to Career.” The vision of CUEL is to provide Compton Unified scholars equitable access to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) education and reinforce skills such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
Compton Unified Esports League is in its fifth year of implementation and is growing exponentially. In 2019 the program kicked off with a high school Esports tournament. Currently, CUEL serves all four high schools, six traditional middle schools, and ten K-8 schools, reaching more than 1000 students. The CUEL strategic partnership with The Carrot Group provides a district-run tournament where schools within the district compete in tournaments and engage in workforce development through learning sessions with leading game design companies. Coaches from each school site meet with students after school for game days and practices.
“As Superintendent and on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Compton Unified School District, I can attest that the impact of our Esports program has been far reaching,” said Superintendent Dr. Darin Brawley. “Not only have doors of opportunity been open for students to enter into careers in a billion-dollar sector, they have done so while cultivating transferable skills and doing something they enjoy. This is equity: closing not only the achievement gap, but the opportunity gap as well.”
“As we wrestle with the aftermath of the pandemic and address longstanding issues related to student success, it’s important to highlight school districts and county offices of education that are demonstrate promising practices for closing opportunity and achievement gaps and supporting student wellness,” said CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy. “This year’s Golden Bell winners have developed remarkable programs that can serve as an example for schools across the state as they work to accelerate learning recovery and foster healthy school environments for all California students.
The CSBA Golden Bell Awards are in their 44th year. The awards ceremony was part of CSBA’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show held from Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in San Francisco. The conference is the premier continuing education event for California school board members and the largest education leadership conference in the state.
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