Montverde Academy, Electronic Arts partner to teach students about making video games
A private school in Lake County known for its athletic programs will soon be teaching students about video game design and ethics with a new partnership with game maker Electronic Arts.
Montverde Academy, whose alumni include professional athletes such as Ben Simmons and Cade Cunningham, will also have students compete in “Esports,” or video game playing competitions. The school wants to identify incredible gamers to put it on the map for having a special gaming team, said David Rath, associate head of school.
“We want to be excellent in everything,” Rath said. “We want to start at the top.”
Expected to launch in August, kids in grades nine through 12 will be able to apply to the school’s new gaming academy, Rath said. The program will be similar to how some students at the school study other specialized areas, such as theater.
“They will take core academic classes, but then they will also have specialized classes geared towards the gaming industry,” Rath said. “They may have an hour of game playing in the afternoon and then two hours of course work that’s specific to the gaming industry.”
Those classes could cover game design theory, gaming ethics, marketing and economics, Rath said.
He said the program will max out at 20 students, but could expand to 40. It will initially be offered to families already attending the school, which has 1,300 students from more than 80 countries attending pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
“Eventually, this is going to be a big draw,” Rath said.
Electronic Arts staff will serve as mentors, visiting the school and presenting in guest roles, Rath said.
EA Sports vice president Daryl Holt said
in a Montverde news release the company hoped the program would help empower students to pursue careers with the video game business.
“This partnership builds upon our ongoing efforts to increase exposure and access among students from diverse backgrounds as we inspire them to become electronic artists of the future,” Holt said in the release.
A representative for EA canceled an interview with the Orlando Sentinel for this story.
The California-based company makes its popular Madden NFL series in Orlando.
EA Tiburon’s staff in Central Florida has grown to a workforce of 1,000. Those employees were welcomed to their new downtown Orlando building in March after leaving their Maitland office to work from home during the pandemic.
They are also expected to make the upcoming EA Sports College Football game.
Rath said students in the program will have an extra advantage when applying for college, adding “computer games don’t create themselves.”
“From a school standpoint you never want to stay stagnant,” Rath said. “We looked at this as a chance for us to be cutting edge.”