Mt Vernon teacher honored for starting esports program that could expand to unified teams

The Mt Vernon Community School Corp honored a teacher Tuesday night with a new Ripple Award for starting an esports program that district staff said was seeded by a grant from the Mount Vernon Education Foundation and 9 Star Community Trust.

The award recognized the teacher’s work launching a club-level esports team at the middle school that began with four Madden teams and expanded into Rocket League. The teacher, identified as Mr. Kern, described the effort as a trial year that will move to varsity next year and said he hopes to add a unified team for students with disabilities.

“Last year when Dr. Parker said, got an idea for an esports team, I immediately geeked out and went nuts and told my wife,” Kern said. He described starting with club play and later adding Rocket League, praising the students’ growth: “They grew as friends. They grew as competitors.”

Kern said the program began after the district obtained a grant and local volunteers helped launch the team, and he described student interest in continuing into high school. He also discussed a planned varsity pathway and a trip to a state finals competition at Ball State if the program progresses as hoped.

Kern noted the social and competitive benefits: one student initially doubted his place on the team but became sought after by peers by year’s end. Kern said he hopes unified meets will run alongside regular meets and that “you can get money for college to play video games.”

The ceremony included a brief presentation and a photo opportunity; the board did not take formal action related to the esports program during the meeting beyond the recognition award.