The most recent “athletic” installation in Pearl-Cohn High School is a classroom with a double size full of high-speed computer processors, large screens showing a finely detailed animation and students of all shapes and sizes.
It is the new university laboratory for electronic sports, a room that made Pearl -Cohn a pioneer in metro schools – with the hope of paving the way to the state of Tennessee.
More than a year in manufacturing, Pearl -Cohn’s commitment to electronic sports – video game competitions which are sometimes played in front of the public live but which are not linked by geography – develops quickly. In February, Keanthony Waller Senior became the first electronic sports athlete in MNP history to play (and win) a competition match, beating a Florida student in the NBA 2K 25 professional basketball match.
“You have all made the story!” Director Miriam Harrington told Keanthony and about two dozen other students who had gathered in the laboratory the next morning. 
Harrington hopes to transform academic electronic sports into a viable path in Nashville academies, small learning communities that Pearl-Cohn and the 11 Zonée Schools in the MNP use to expose students to career opportunities throughout their four years. Such a way would also make history, like the first in Tennessee.
E-Sports has become an important industry, generating job opportunities not only for the most prosperous players, but also in software development, web design, content streaming, broadcasting, business management, event planning and other fields.
“This is interested and transform it into an academic orientation that can lead to a career,” said Harrington.
Positive impact
Administrators, teachers and others from Pearl -Cohn who train and work with students said that opportunities to play and compete – that some students may not feel interested in doing with more traditional sports – already have a positive impact.
The program is “to create an environment where students can engage in real skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication through the objective of” game “and in an academic / professional environment,” said Jason Bihler, educational designer of the school district. 
The panels on the walls list the fundamental values of the Pearl-Cohn academic electronic sports program: challenge, community, management, pleasure, excellence, copy. Tyler Welch, academy of the academy at school who is also head-up coach for girls and girls from cross-country, said that the design of the classroom, with rows of computer stations on the one side and a more social field on the other, gave students the opportunity to learn and practice socio-emotional skills when they are not in competition.
“What we support is not only playing games, but treating them like adults,” added Thomas Paden, a teacher of broadcasting and deputy coach of electronic sports. “I think it’s already paid. Their notes increase. We see more respect and good manners practiced here. And in addition, it’s fun. “
Several other MNPS schools are also planning to add electronic sports, said Bihler. Glencliff Elementary already has an electronic sports club, and a handful of elementary, intermediate and secondary schools explore the possibilities.
In Pearl-Cohn, the students compete at the NBA 2K 25 as well as a game of chess, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Rocket League. Mikhai Moshay, a second year student, is a member of the regional rocket league team, taking advantage of a fast -paced vehicle football game that he had already played for a few years.
“I just like you can come here and just a game,” said Mikhai. “It’s free and open. You do something you love, and it’s at school. ”