Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

We get nothing...even our fundrasier attempts are shot down by the admin. They care more about sports than anything else. They just do the bare minimum to keep from parents (Of honors students and academically (or robotically) inclined students) from storming the office buildings and tearing the admin limb from limb (no not literally...but thats some of the tension being felt).

We work out of a portable classroom with sporadic access to our toolshop which is fairly pathetic. The only powered handtool we have access to at any time is a beat up jigsaw. Our drill somehow got stolen...yeah...not very pretty. And to top it all off...we are $800 in the hole!

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

before last week i dont think anyone in the school even knew there was a robotics team on campus, but we just "showcased" our 2005 robot at the homecoming rally and football game(we shot t-shirts into the crowd) and everyone loved it! so we're being at least a little more recognized throughout the school now. =)

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

The students at my school, are ummmm, well, a lot of them can learn to be more mature about things. There are people who are blown away on how cool they think the robotics team is but then say nothing more. They compliment but usually it's the leadership kids and honor roll kids that would compliment the team then there's the majority of the school, uggh. I love my school because of the leadership programs and tech programs but there are just so many many rude people and ignorant people. Like at the rally where we brought out the robot and the majority of the "gangstas" or "cool", or "pimped out", or druggies just yell out stupid stuff like how (this was the 2005 rally so it was the triple play bot) that we should pick up people and start knocking the crowd out. I was in the crowd and it extremely bothered me when they would say how lame the team is. :mad: I wish I could show how amazing FIRST is but the maturity level just isn't there at my school. :( We didn't show off our Aim High bot because our rallys got cancelled last year and rescheduled because of supposed shootings. Well, maybe this year will be better because the rally is required for the entire student body anymore, only those who do want to come can come and if they don't, they can just go home. :( But then again, the majority of my team just doesn't have school spirit either, except for about three of us and they're the captains. But that's the students, I know the teachers are always constantly supporting the team. Some of them are even going out to help find sponsors for us. :D I love them.

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

Our school has actually never supported our team as far as i know very much. The admin and us have never been very good friends considering we're somewhat bad at turning in the necessary paperwork for competitions. Then on top of that, our school is so academically oriented that the teachers don't like us either because during build everyone's grade dips for a while ;) but other than that, there are some pro-robotics teachers around, mostly just our ROP Engineering Tech teacher, one of our art teachers and our faculty advisor :D half the people at our school don't even know that we have a robotics team, which is kind of lame considering we've been around for 9 years already :o but in the end the people in our team pull it all together for us with the enormous support we get from our own members and their families.

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

it was amazing for our team to even be able to HAVE a robotics team. the school recognizes our existance.. and once and a while gives us a pat on the back.. but i can't remember the last time that happened. our school kinda sees us a more of a geek fest and a joke rather than a real team.. so that's a little disappointing. but cheers to all those teams who have school support they're really lucky. it's good to hav some ppl cheering u in the stands.. most of the time... we don't have anybody :confused:

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

To most students at my school, the robotics team does not even exist. To most of the administrators at my school, the robotics team does not even exist. The irony is that our school has an Emerging Computer Technology magnet program which is the only one in our county. We have a robotics lab, 6 robotics classes and a visual computer modeling class, we have a large cooperate sponsor, and the school is supposed to be a 'shinning example' of what an inner city high school should be. However, in no harsh terms, my school disregards every aspect of our magnet program and our robotics team. In the last four years I have been there, 3 of the valedictorians have been on the robotics team. We have been more successful than any sports team at our school and yet, when the girls soccer team scores in a game, it gets announced on the PA system but when we are ranked 7th in our division at nationals, we have to beg to be announced, even noticed. The community does not know we exist, nor do they much care either. Out side of the 60 members on our team (who all came to the school to join the robotics team by hearing of it through the magnet showcase or from an FLL team we are involved with) NO one knows or cares. It is sad, pathetic, even disgusting when your principle does not know what the robotics team is. To all the other teams in a similar situation, I feel your pain. Never fret though, one of these days, someone will start paying attention to us 'nerds'.

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

Well, my school is huge. There are 4k students at it, and the school has a fairly sizable budget (which explains why we ask for more)

They give us around $2k each year, the use of the industrial tech department, and they allow us to skip school days for regionals with no penalties... We also sponsor (for them) a couple lego league teams from their middle schools. All in all not a bad deal, and although the team is well loved, the teachers aren't so. To the school, our teacher mentors are worth that of an assistant cheerleading coach :mad: :confused: (thats the amount they get for the club's overtime).

So theres a good and a bad to it.

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

Well atleast they give you money. We dont get a nickel from our school. Hopefully your mentors will get more in the future because I know how much time many mentors speed on helping students around the country. Its about the youth, fun, and expeirence though not the money.

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

our school practically doesn't support us, the principal gave us 2000 this year and thats it

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

During my years on an FRC team, we got funding from the school (and school system) only as an incentive. They generally didn't pay for us to go to regionals. We had to raise the money ourselves and get it from sponsorships. Thank goodness we had excellent sponsors that believed in us (even though the team is now representing the sponsor at a number of events). We made the press and we became a bigger deal than we were to start off with (probably a bigger deal now this year), but the school would only come behind us financially for Championship (even though the team has enough money to go this year) or for second regional competition. And that payment was===we'll pay whatever it takes. The bad news is, we have two competing teams in the county getting publicity and a governor-appointed Board of Ed, which means the team may or may not get support directly from the school system ever.

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

Our school graciously takes any debt that we accrue during the season, so long as we pay it back before the end of the school season. Besides, that they also give us e-mails about fundraising opportunities. That's about it as far as school funding. The school's engineering teacher gives up time, as well as our programming teacher, if you're counting teachers as part of a loosely defined school.

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

Well, this year was our seccond year. Our first year we got nothing from the school. We got the "OK" for like one fundraiser. This year though, we actually got the Valentine's Day Grams fundraiser instead of student council. Unfortunately though, our dance that we tried to do to make money, which was a rave, got shot down because the vice-principal hates anyone that isn't student council. In her words "Dances are only done by student council". The student council kids, it turns out, were unaware of this and are currently considering running one as a proxy of the robotics club and funneling the proffits to us. Also, this year we got more support because we got all of the pre-paid credit cards from the teachers that didn't get spent before the dead-line, which was a few hundred bucks. I think next year will be much better because the counselors really like us and asked if we could get them all some team shirts.

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

1983 comes from an extremely small school. We are a public "magnet-like" school, focused on math, science and technology in a text of aviation. (Aviation High School) We are a brand new high school, this is our fourth year, and my class will be the first to graduate (this year). In the beginning we did not receive an support. They just assumed that we were another science olympiad type team thing. They learned pretty quickly that we were a little bigger than that. We started to get some more support, specifically from our administration. Our school doesn't have any sports teams, so we got some financial support from our PTSA and were able to fund a trip to the Champs after we got a regional in in Las Vegas and Rookie All Star. Our support has definitely increased this season. The school has held a couple of "pep rallies" for our team, as well as initiating an all school field trip to the Microsoft-Seattle Regional on the friday of the competition! It was incredible! Finally, our teachers and the other students could get a better understanding of what we do! It has really worked! The teachers continue to ask questions about what was going on, and what we're doing now, and what Atlanta's going to be like. It was really great to win the regional that they attended! We are already experiencing an increase in interest, and expect another large jump in student membership. It was all very exciting. It is hard with the money though, becuase we do not want to take much from the school. Currently our school is housed at its second interim location since its inception 3.5 years ago, and is still trying to find funds to build a school for us. We will get it, it will just take a little more time.

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

Here in Old Lyme, we've had up to three members of the school board as parents of Ticks. My wife is Treasurer of the school board. It's a good way to assure support!

Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
 

Our school is no diffeant than all your stories. We get minamal support at best. We get the use of a make-shift shop through a hole in the wall the students made to link the "shop" to the CAD room. There are a few teachers that show interest and our instructor is a very well respected man in the district. The Daily News, our local news paper, did a front page article this year. Some of our school adminastrators didn't even know we had a FIRST program. This was my first year with the team and I didn't even know it existed. I call it the best kept secert.

I hope more people notice this awesome opportunity for our students.
We're currently working on fund raising and awareness programs.

The biggest challenges that we encounter is getting the parents envolved. We were lucky to have 4 parents and a team of 20+ students. And keeping the team together after the regional event. We're hoping to change this by promoting what FIRST has to offer and staging public events.

Now that we're on the subject. Maybe collectivly on here or through another media we should ban together. Strength in numbers! It looks to me we're all facing the same issues with just about every team. If we had a couple hundred teams with a campaign highlighting our organization and the positive affects it has that might draw some attention.

Share and brainstorm on these issues. Maybe there is something like this already out there. If there is please let me know.

Dave Team 1708
Mentor / Tech Advisor

daviddujmic@yahoo.com