Brooklyn, NY—Urban Arts remains thrilled to be involved with Battle of the Boroughs (BOTB)—an exciting K-12 #scholastic #esports competition from NYC Public Schools, Minecraft Education, and C40’s Reinventing Cities aimed at empowering young New Yorkers to shape their city’s future.

BOTB is a three-round elimination-style event where student teams design inclusive, future-ready city spaces. Mayor’s Cup Finals finals popped off on June 8, 2024, at Brooklyn Public Library. The initiative aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the PlaNYC climate plan, and the Mayor’s Digital Gaming Initiative, providing students with a unique, hands-on learning experience in Minecraft’s immersive digital world.

“We love how #BOTB not only can build skills like coding and creativity but also builds perseverance and teamwork,” said Amy Patterson, Urban Arts Chief Program Officer. “In these creative build challenges students work together to solve problems. BOTB is a platform for young New Yorkers to envision and build a brighter, more inclusive future.”

Urban Arts’ pilot Creative Coders program played a pivotal role in preparing a select group of NYC teachers for this initiative. Creative Coders teaches computer science through creative technology. It’s a free program funded by a U.S. Department of Education Innovation & Research (EIR) Grant, designed to help teach computer science using Minecraft: Education Edition. The program emphasizes experiential learning, culturally-responsive teaching, and community engagement, expanding high-impact educational opportunities. For more information, link up at info@urbanarts.org!

Eric Scatteretico, a Creative Coders participant whose team the Straw Hat Luffers won their division this year, remarked, “Leveraging student interest in Minecraft and Microsoft MakeCode programming has made computer science accessible to all my students. This program has increased interest in computer science and helped my students see themselves as incredible coders and computer scientists.”

Urban Arts educators have excelled in the competition, with all submissions making it to the Borough Semi-Finals. In fact they represented 60% of the Junior’s Division field at the Mayor’s Cup! Urban Arts provides digital game design education as a pathway to college and career, partnering with schools nationwide to deliver custom curricula designed to engage every student.

Upstairs from the competition, students also had opportunities to showcase original arcade video games at the Mayor’s Cup! In addition to Creative Coders teachers who participated in our Build Challenge pilot, another group of Creative Coders teachers participated in a game creation pilot using GameCode, a NEW experience fresh from Minecraft for Education that will be part of the Creative Coders pathway. In this exciting interstellar world, students create their own original games in Minecraft!

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For more information, please contact:
Jenifer Walter, Director of Marketing and Communications, Urban Arts, jen@urbanarts.org
Interview access with students, teachers, Urban Arts and Minecraft Education leadership available.

THEMES / TIMELINESS
Education access, opportunity, engagement / Especially in the post-COVID lag.
Title 1 and Tech
Serving public school teachers / Especially as retention craters.
Computer Science / Expensive, critical and increasingly state-mandated. Who gets served?
Diversity in Tech / Decades of talk, and yet employment and leadership remain overwhelmingly white and male.
Tech equity / Level the digital playing field.
Gaming Industry / What do creators of color make given the training and the tools?