Esports Kicks Off at Third Newark High School with a Match!

Our third esports program in partnership with the Newark Board of Education has officially launched at Technology High School!

Check out the talented competitors and streamers from the Technology High School Panthers as they faced off against East Side High in the City of Newark League Championships!

The Championships will wrap up with the first-ever in-person Super Cup at the end of May, hosted in the stunning new esports lab—built in partnership with the Newark Board of Education and Technology High School.

As we have seen in Newark, esports programs are not just for esports players, but also provide skill-learning opportunities for the team managers, game commentators, and audio/visual team, as well as a joyful environment for community building and new friendships.

In the YouTube Short above, our Founder and Chairman David Neeman speaks with esports coach, Carlos Queiruga Casais (Science Department, Technology High School) about the program.

David: How's the team doing so far this year?

Carlos: From being together for just a month, they've built a lot of chemistry really quickly. They've been able to work together, and they've been consistently practicing — even after school on their own time. Just making sure they're able to build that chemistry that you need for a game like Rocket League. And honestly, it's a lot of dedication coming from these guys.

It's really awesome to see different grade levels, too. We have, again, one senior, a lot of freshmen coming to play this game — and they're all communicating effectively. They're all doing their part to make sure we're a successful team.

David: How many kids do you have in the facility each day?

Carlos: Usually, we have about 15 to 20 kids. If we're not doing Rocket League and Smash, we'll be doing Valorant. If not, we'll have the overflow for next season. So we always have to try to accommodate as many kids as we have.

We have the problem of actually not being able to accommodate everyone at the same time — so the interest is definitely here. Now, we definitely have a schedule going, so everybody has their own allotted time to be able to get in that practice and just really get the program going.

David: And over there — they're doing the commentating?

Carlos: So we have our James, who is our senior, and Marvin, our freshman. James is our lead commentator, and this is actually their fourth time commentating on our YouTube stream. They've been doing a phenomenal job.

In Spring 2023, The Loyalty Foundation partnered with The Newark Board of Education to launch The Circuits esports program at the Newark School of Data Science and Information Technology, marking a significant milestone for Newark Public Schools. Building on this success, the program has since expanded to include new teams at Newark’s East Side High School and now, Technology High School.

The Panthers in their state-of-the-art dedicated esports lab at Newark's Technology High School, as seen on their LinkedIn page.

Esports isn’t just gaming—it’s a gateway to higher education and STEM careers, boosting attendance, social engagement, and student confidence. With a global audience of over half a billion, esports is the perfect Trojan horse for introducing computer science and fostering a strong sense of belonging.

Interested in bringing an esports program to your school or community facility? Contact our Director of Operations, Elizabeth Streat, for more information at elizabeth@loyaltyfoundation.org