We Need Your Help!

[akosin]

Hello all!
I am now the lead Electrical mentor for team 4288, the Worcester Beach Bots. Our school board ruled that our robotics team was no longer an official club. Please help us by signing our petition at change.org below.


http://www.change.org/petitions/overturn-the-decision-made-by-the-worcester-county-public-schools-to-not-allow-the-worcester-county-beach-bots-robotics-team-club-to-be-under-worcester-county-public-schools

Thank You,
Austin Kosin

[akosin]

If everyone could share this on Facebook, twitter, etc. it would help us out a lot!

Thank You so Much!!

P.S. I hope to someday see our team compete in a water game.

[dcarr]

This sucks. One of the teams I work with just lost support from their school after 9 years, and has to completely re-form under new circumstances. I signed your petition, good luck and I hope you get to compete this year one way or another.

[akosin]

Thank you so much!

[sanddrag]

There must be another piece of this story we don't have. Why would you just up and end something? What's the missing piece to this puzzle?

[Brandon Zalinsky]

There must be another piece of this story we don't have. Why would you just up and end something? What's the missing piece to this puzzle?

This. But if there really is nothing else, this royally sucks.

[Chadfrom308]

Robotics has taught me more about engineering, programming, and even real life situations than school has. It's a shame it's being questioned.

[FrankJ]

Good luck with your petition, but I really don't see that swaying the school board. You need to address the reasons why they do not see your team as club any more.

You at the very least are owed an explanation of why you are no longer an official club. This is also something to get the local First people involved since they have an vested interest in the outcome.

In our school system the board would not get involved in a "club" decision unless there was a political issue. The principal at the school carries most of that weight. The main criteria for a club is to have a willing Faculty adviser & be self supporting. To deny one group equal access to the facilities that other group have might well be illegal. (I did not say is., the law is complicated & I am not a lawyer.)

Always be polite. Try not to be confrontational. The goal is to persuade & not force the school board to your side.

[techhelpbb]

I wonder if the cost is really the basic issue.

I know from past experience that often schools view things like this as vocational and these days many schools view vocational programs as too expensive when you consider the cost per student versus a student that merely hopes to graduate.

I am merely wondering. If the school foots too much burden finance wise it could be a point of contention.

[Tungrus]

We feel the pain for you and happy that you have started the petition.

There is no reason (unless natural disasters) that FRC team should lose its support from School. Its lack of leadership in the decision makers and understanding of education, they don't see the bigger picture and the impact FRC has on youth. If its financial issue, school/school district can support the team and team can raise funds or collect fee from the members. There are many ways school can support, many times just the moral support is great!

Many times team members are blamed for their action, in such cases, only the offenders should be punished and not the whole team.

[FrankJ]

Unfortunately money is often the issue.
School systems have to balance the funds available with a bunch of competing interest.

FRC is expensive. Funding your team is a never ending job. If you are getting significant dollars from your school you are going to have to be prepared to make a continuing case that is the best use of their (or tax payer) money. Some body else is making the case that the money is better used for their project.

One advantage of doing Chairmans is you have a ready made presentation of how your team effects the community & promotes STEM. Use it.

[akosin]

Actually, we never were financially supported by our county.

[Brandon_L]

Being in an almost similar situation, I feel for you guys. Signed and shared.

Our school board made so many promises after we won an event last year. Not only were none of them fulfilled, but they managed to make us worse off by removing the space we did have and replacing it with a weight room. We're currently without a home.

It just makes me wonder where school systems have their priorities. Education, where quite literally anyone could "go pro" - or Athletics?

[Clem1640]

Our team lost school club status after our head mentor (a high school physics teacher) had to leave due to health problems. It was impossible to find another teacher in the district willing to step in, so after exhausting all attempts to find a replacement teacher/mentor, and waiting until it became clear that the original teacher/mentor could not return, the school district cut us loose. It was harsh at the time, but I honestly do not think that the school district had much of a choice.

The good news is that the team not only survived, but thrived. Remaining mentors took ownership of the team's survival. We incorporated. The team spent three years as a wandering robotics team moving from one donated unused warehouse to the next (we currently have a permanent home again).

We also became a better, more active team. I'm sure this was not cause and effect, but adversity can be a galvanizing force.

I signed your petition and wish you good luck.

[bbradf44]

Signed. I hope you guys get it worked out. Currently my team is going through a hard time. Our county doesn't support us more than a room to work in(even that I think there charging us for). Our head mentor and co founder of our team just retired last year and everything else is just falling apart. Good luck to you and your team

[Mr. Mike]

This is tough.
Deal with the school board the same way as a potential sponsor. Gather as much statistics to show the benefits of FIRST involvement. Your local senior mentor should be able to supply some stats.
On our team we are tracking our alumni.
After 4 years we have 17 alumni. 16 have gone onto a 4 year collage. 1 has joined the military. The collage bound have received $149,000 in scholarships and grants that are directly connected to the club and FIRST. When we add their scholastic and other local scholarships they total $788,000.

[CidTeach]

Posted response and signed. Hope all works out for you guys. Its really a shame schools and districts don't support their local teams a little bit. Long term goals always seem to get skewed with short term problems.
Stay strong and keep thinking outside the box.

[akosin]

Thank you everyone who signed and shared our petition!

[samanthaa]

I will be signing this, and passing it along to the rest of our team, as well as sharing it over our Facebook page. We know exactly what it feels like to lose support from your school district. We have been a member of FIRST for over 15 years and last year we were in line to be cut from any sort of support, thankfully we've gotten things worked out, but we're right here rooting for you. :) Let us know if there is anything we can do.

-Samantha Adams
CRT 306 Co-Captain

[akosin]

Thank you!

[Joe Ross]

Why isn't this mentioned on your website, facebook, or twitter?

[Isaac501]

If possible, you should check out your local 4-H organization. We recently moved to a club associated with 4-H as well as two school districts.
We receive no financial backing from either school district or 4-H.

Not having a school is not the end of the world. Network with other local teams to share resources and buildspaces. Contact local companies who may be willing to donate the same.

[Michael Hill]

Wow, this really stinks. There could be at least SOME good if your school drops support. My team has never been associated with any high school, and while that means we don't get their support for a lot of stuff, we don't have to abide by any of their rules. In the winter, we can meet even when schools have snow days and possibly even fewer liabilities. We have been rather fortunate that schools our students attend have given time off to go to competition (which I think most schools will).

However, if your school is your primary monetary source and has your build space, that really stinks.

Hope you guys can work something out.

[JamesCH95]

It is most definitely frustrating to not be considered a sanctioned club by your home school anymore, I can certainly empathize with that. Being blind-sided by the decision makes it feel that much worse, too.

On the other hand I find it difficult to sign a petition where I only know one side of the argument. It seems very suspicious that a school board would simply pull the plug on a club that they weren't spending any money on. Something else is probably going on. The school board may not have told you why, but it is very important that the root cause of their decision be addressed. It may be a perfectly valid reason or concern that you have not ever considered before. I look forward to learning what your school board's reasons are. Perhaps what you learn can help other teams avoid a similar situation in the future.

Good luck. No matter the outcome of your current situation the FRC community will be there to lend a hand.

[Dustin Shadbolt]

We almost had to face the same situation. The word on the wire was due to costs and what not we could face the same judgement (we also weren't on the best of terms with the new super).

If they don't reverse it, you can always get a new primary sponsor. There are A LOT of teams that run through the local 4-H.


Best of luck.


--Dustin

[Wayne Doenges]

Signed
Have you considered going over to 4H? You don't need to associated with a school plus you can include home schooled students.

[Ajennings8896]

I've signed it and I'm trying to get my other team members to sign as well. I can't imagine why a school would want to shut down an FRC team. I hope you guys get to stay with your school.

[Kjennings]

Very best of luck to your team! It would be a shame to lose a team when all the teams are continually working to grow the awareness of FIRST.