From inventory to innovation: How Iron County School District powers student success through technology and eSports

Cedar City, Utah (November 24, 2025) - The Iron County School District (ICSD) has discovered an innovative way to spark students’ enthusiasm for learning by introducing a new extracurricular activity, eSports. But, behind the excitement of competitive gaming and sleek tech setups lies an important foundation: a unique approach to technology planning, grounded in the Utah Education Network (UEN) K-12 Utah School Technology Inventory.

Beginning in 2015, UEN set out to understand how technology supports teaching and learning by tracking classroom usage and access to digital resources. Now, 10 years later, in partnership with the nonprofit Connected Nation, UEN continues to conduct its technology inventory across all K-12 Utah public and charter schools.

The eSports evolution

Schools in the district are no strangers to technology use in their classrooms. But what about afterschool hours? That’s where eSports found its foothold, and where many students soon benefited from competitive online gaming. In 2018, ICSD first initiated eSports as an afterschool activity because district leaders wanted to find a way to include more students with alternative interests.

“Students who might not be physically capable of doing well in athletics might do well in eSports because of their gaming skills,” said Troy Lunt, Technology Director and Data Privacy Manager for the ICSD. “We found that to be true, and it gives those students an opportunity to learn how to be a team player and perform in events that put them on the same level as an athlete, or drill team member, or musician, or other competitive school performers.”

Lunt said the district initially experienced some resistance. But as soon as parents witnessed renewed energy from their struggling students to raise their grades and attendance, a requirement for eSports participation, they were eager to get their students involved. With eSports, the minimum attendance was 90%, with a minimum 2.5 GPA. The students did even better, with some raising their GPA to as high as a 3.5. They were definitely capable students who needed an opportunity, and the parents fully embraced the district's efforts to bring this into the ICSD schools.

“At the end of the school day, just like other sports, the eSports students have practice at 3 p.m.,” said Lunt. “These teams practice using approved games and developing team strategies in our computer labs, and practice on how to be team players as they approach these dozen or so games that are approved for their use.”

Now in 2025, up to 300 ICSD students from elementary through high school are participating in some variation of eSports. That includes three high schools, three middle schools, and six out of the nine elementary schools. In 2024, eSports became a sanctioned sport through the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA). Prior to the state's eSports inception, one of the ICSD high school teams became nationally ranked through a national league the district participated in.

“I bring this up because now we have eSports inventoried devices and computers that are just as important as anything else that we do,” said Lunt. “That didn't really become a big thing until late last school year, but with the UEN tech inventory this year, it made it evident that our attention needed to be on all technology inventory - even eSports.”

Technology behind the scenes

With a great opportunity like eSports comes more work behind the scenes for the district. The ICSD has made huge strides with their technology deployment in and out of the classroom, and one of the contributing factors is the UEN K-12 Technology Inventory.

“The most important thing for us is that this inventory creates awareness,” said Lunt. “There are so many times when Ken Munford (IT Systems Engineer for ICSD) and I get into the inventory and we always seem to find something that we look at each other and say, ‘We didn't even consider that.’ But now, we can find our answers because the UEN survey reminds us of what we need to focus on.”

“Even when there's redundancy from years past on the survey, we can carry some of that over, we're always introduced to something new or something we have not considered,” Lunt added. “It helps us maintain a positive approach that we are doing everything we can and should be. 

The inventory gives the ICSD Technology Department an opportunity to go back to their business administrators, superintendent, and education directors and say they need to give more attention to specific areas related to inventory management.

Looking ahead into AI

With the newest version of the school inventory complete, the one area the ICSD is focusing on is leveraging AI in their classrooms.

The district initially blocked all AI applications for students, though teachers had access. District leaders conducted an extensive evaluation where they brought in half a dozen AI products, narrowed them down to three providers over the course of a month. Then, over the next four months utilizing a large stakeholder group, selected SchoolAI — the application their students are now encouraged to use in school.