In November of 2021, The Programs of The Western PA School for the Deaf (WPSD), through The Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children (SSDHHC), joined into a unique partnerships with the Abington Heights School District (AH) to benefit students on three separate campuses.

Beginning with the Spring season, students from AH remotely joined the recently-started WPSD Varsity Esports program using the Esports Lab on the campus of SSDHHC. The new hybrid Varsity Esports team is competing in the Garden State Esports (GSE) League’s VALORANT season. This is the first known collaboration of Deaf and Hearing students from different schools to form a competitive Esports team. Meanwhile, 7th & 8th students from SSDHHC have been invited to participate in traditional athletic programming offered by Abington Heights. Six students from AH are competing in Esports while one student from SSDHHC is competing in Jr. High Track & Field during this introductory season.

In February of 2022, just before the start of the VALORANT season,
The University of Pittsburgh Department of Engineering joined the partnership with a team of Engineering students working to develop technology that facilitates communication for Deaf and Hearing teammates in support of competitive play.

This team is a model of cooperation, accessibility, and inclusion that is the direct result of each respective school to their shared commitment to provide outstanding opportunities for all students.