Northside takes middle-school esports state title; Southside Middle showcases mock trial and academic gains

Board members spent part of the meeting celebrating student work: Northside Middle School’s esports team brought a state championship trophy, and Southside Middle School principal JD Craft outlined academic and extracurricular gains.

Northside’s coach introduced members of the championship roster and described the team’s season and the Marvel Rivals state final, which the coach said ended with a 3–1 victory. Coach and students described the teamwork needed for different in-game roles and asked the board to consider banner recognition; the chair suggested a photo with trustees to celebrate the accomplishment.

JD Craft, principal at Southside Middle School, said the school had a near-term attendance increase of about 3% and roughly 70% of students participate in extracurricular or co-curricular activities. He highlighted a notable improvement on the middle-school math checkpoints—eighth-grade checkpoint results rose from roughly 7.5% at checkpoint 1 to about 19.7% at checkpoint 2—and said the school expects continued growth. Craft also outlined planned facility work (a new gym floor, track and tennis-court renovations), said Panther TV will produce a short highlight reel from a filmed mock-trial event, and announced that some eighth graders will have opportunities to earn high-school credits in subjects such as band, PLTW and Spanish.

Craft credited community partners (including a local judge who hosted an in-school mock trial) and staff for supporting immersive learning experiences; students who participated described the courtroom exercise as eye-opening and engaging.

The board applauded the students and accepted the presentations.