MANSFIELD — Mansfield Senior High School is adding two new clubs for non-traditional athletes.
Teachers Brad Kentosh and Nick Boller updated the Mansfield City Schools board Tuesday on the high school’s two new clubs.
Kentosh started the chess club shortly before winter break. The high school science teacher said he’s been consulting with Bill Asher, a retired teacher who lead the high school’s chess club in the 1970s.
Kentosh said about six students attended the first meeting, held the Wednesday before Christmas break. He hopes to increase participation to double digits in 2023.
Boller is the advisor for the high school’s esports club. Boller said esports are not yet recognized by the Ohio High School Athletic Association or the Ohio Cardinal Conference, but more than 100 school districts offer competitions for students through a non-profit called Esports Ohio.
Boller said esports function similarly to traditional sports, with practices throughout the week and a two- to three-hour competition once a week.
The board approved the creation of an esports club for the high school, but Boller asked them to consider creating an advisor position for the middle school as well.
Boller said the district surveyed middle and high schoolers to gauge their interest in an esports program.
“We had over 60 kids reply saying that they wanted to participate in esports and an additional 25 that said they’re very interested in esports,” he said.
“With a large portion of the students, this would be the first time they’ve ever participated in any school extracurricular activity of any kind.”
Boller said esports offers an equal playing field for students and allows non-traditional athletes to compete for Mansfield City Schools.
“This allows students to get involved in our schools and help motivate them to maintain academic eligibility and provide a safe atmosphere for them to express themselves,” Boller said.
Boller added that esports can teach students many of the same principles as traditional sports, such as teamwork, leadership, and discipline.
According to Boller, Tiffin University and Ashland University both offer esports scholarships and The Ohio State University has several esports teams.
“In the U.S. there’s more than 150 universities that now offer a variety of varsity esports programs on their campuses with scholarships,” Boller said.
The board also heard an update from Principal Rob McQuate on the high school’s new ‘triple A’ program. McQuate said the initiative stands for attendance, academics and accountability.
School administrators and counselors identified about 10 percent of students in each class whose grades reflect a need for extra attention.
A staff member meets with each student weekly for about 15 to 20 minutes to talk about their recent attendance, academic standing and behavior.
McQuate said staff members won’t lecture students who are struggling. Instead, they’ll ask how they can help the student and their family.
“Where is your GPA right now? What credits do you have right now? How can we help you with your homework issues, with your grade current issues? Do you have any overdue assignments? What tests do you have coming up?” McQuate said.
“These are the conversations that we’re going to have with them.”
McQuate said the school will continue the program next year, but the hope is that some participating students will increase their attendance, academics and behavioral outcomes and “roll off” the list.
McQuate also said that after multiple alerts, physical letters and class meetings, the school’s rate of first period tardies dropped 34 percent.
“Our plan is to look at how we can reduce those even further and keep track of that data for the rest of the year,” McQuate said.
