Cool Teacher: Fort Dorchester High School's Damond Howard

Yahoo

07-05-2025

Students say he's a game changer. Having fun at school while strengthening leadership skills and focus, Visual Arts teacher and Esports coach Damond Howard gets top scores from his students for leading the movement to bring Esports to Fort Dorchester High School.
As we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, News 2's Octavia Mitchell is in Dorchester School District Two for our Cool School Teacher of the Week.
An educator for more than twenty years, Mr. Damond Howard, an award-winning, practicing visual artist, is in his fourth year as Visual Arts teacher at Fort Dorchester High School, and a few years ago, the Awendaw native added a new title, Esports coach.
'I tend to play video games, and a love for video games just surfaced, and that's how I connected with students,' he said. 'Esports is a new varsity sport with competitive online video games. We have competitions that happen online and competitions that happen in person. We call those land tournaments. We go whenever we can, but the students play here in our lab Monday through Friday. They play games such as Valorant, Mario Kart, Brawlhalla, Super Smash Brothers, all the popular games they're playing, Marvel Rivals.'
Howard started the after-school club at Fort Dorchester, and over two and a half years, he has built the program into a popular extracurricular activity.
'We boast a proud membership of twenty-plus students every semester. There is a waiting list. Students have to meet certain eligibility requirements. They have to maintain passing grades in all classes. They can't get referrals. They have to attend school regularly, but they regularly come. They are pretty much eligible to play as soon as they meet those requirements,' said Howard.
Assistant principal Brent Hamric says, 'He's the best! Mr. Howard is an incredibly valuable asset for us here at the school. He works incredibly hard not only in the classroom, but outside of the classroom to make sure the kids are getting every opportunity to grow artistically in his classes and socially through Esports club. This whole room, he helped design. He kind of put everything together, so we couldn't have done it without him.'
Fort Dorchester High School Esports serves a diverse group of students. 'I was very excited because there were not a lot of people like me that played Esports, African American females like me,' said senior Nevaeh Reynolds. 'I was very excited to do something like that. Mr. Howard, he's very nice. He does a lot for me. He helps me a lot, and tells me to communicate more, and open up to other people. He changed me. I can say he's very cool. He's the best teacher I ever had. He made a big difference.'
This year, Fort Dorchester's Esports students earned first and third place wins during Esports competitions in the High School Esports League.
Howard says, it's not just about fun and games. 'It strengthens critical thinking. A lot of the games are team-based games, so they have to coordinate and strategize how to win. They gain leadership skills. In fact, I have a student, a graduating senior, she was offered an Esports scholarship at the college of her choice. '
Senior Loie McLaine says, 'I got a scholarship to Winthrop University, and currently, Winthrop is the number one Esports college.' She says Mr. Howard played a big role, encouraging her all the way through. 'I think that without that pushing, I wouldn't be here where I am. The way he integrates academics, and art, and Esports all in his classroom gives him a sense a relatability to students.'
Mr. Howard says he is proud of his students' dedication to the program. 'I'm most proud of the students sticking together, the participation. They have to maintain passing grades in all of their classes, so when their grades are not so good, I say you can't play unless you bring your grades up. They say ok, Mr. Howard. They work really hard to pull their grades up, so they can play, so they can represent The Fort.'
Senior Cavari Logan says, 'I really respect Mr. Howard. When I read he was starting a gaming club, I was like wow! It was really a dream come true, because I wanted it to happen, but I didn't think it would actually come through. He was a really cool guy, a really by-the-book guy, but he did learn and really respected the gaming thing. I really appreciate him for that.'
Howard says being named a Cool School Teacher adds more points to his game.
'It means I finally made it by connecting with the students, and they seem to like me. They love what we're doing in Esports, although I'm pretty hard on them in Art, Esports seems to balance out things for me, in them,' said Howard.
If you would like to nominate a Cool School, teacher, or principal, send an email to Octavia Mitchell at [e-mail].
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