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Mentors Input
hello FRC mentors, i am trying to gather some information as to what successful teams have been doing and not doing - on many fronts, not just financially.
Who builds robots/where? Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? Who manages the team/students? How involved is your school? How involved are your students parents? What is your teams operating budget? How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? What is your typical build season schedule? I have many more questions and concerns, but this is a starter thread. if you would rather not post answers, please feel free to email me. thanks. mechman@optonline.net |
Re: Mentors Input
sorry all, i should have mentioned. i am not new to robotics but want to start a new team. i need information to present a plan in order to approach higher-ups
thanks |
Re: Mentors Input
I've been a student on a team and a mentor on a different team so i'm going to answer each question twice.
Who builds robots/where? On both my high school team and the team i mentor the students and the mentors work together to build the robot. My high school team built the robot in my high school and the team i mentor now builds the robot in a building off campus. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? My high school had a machine shop we could use and we just built the robot in class rooms. The team i mentor now has a nice work space and a machine shop in the same building as our work area but we have to share the machine shop. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? Both the teams i've been on have relied on corporate sponsors but you don't have to. Who manages the team/students? Each team id different in this aspect. But the teachers on my high school team were the ones in charge of the students. How involved is your school? [b] Our school wasn't really involved but they did give money to the team. How involved are your students parents? Both teams I've been on the parents have been very involved. They mainly have supplied dinner to the team. But have volunteered on behalf of the teams at competitions or came as extra chaperones. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? I have not been compensated financially as a mentor if that is what you are asking and i know no one on my high school team did either. What is your typical build season schedule? Both teams I've been on met 6 days a week for at least 3 hours a day. |
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Re: Mentors Input
Much like Eric I'll answer for both teams I've been involved with.
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1714 is a mostly student built effort. The mentors act as fantastic teachers and guides who gradually become less and less necessary. It's basically "your ideal FRC team" from a student / mentor balance standpoint, and I would highly suggest emulating them. The team works in a sponsor's shop, American Acrylics. 2791 is also almost entirely student built. We have two teachers and me as the adult force right now, and one of the teachers knows Inventor well enough to CAD up some student's concepts. Other students are learning CAD to catch up with him in order to do more design work before building. We do not have any engineers on the team yet. We build in a school classroom and school metal shop. Quote:
2791: Nope. We have storage space approximately equal to the size of a 9x9 pit for storage. Having to fit everything in there, combined with the densely packed mess made in the last 30 minutes of every meeting, is a huge pain. The team would be a lot more efficient with a dedicated space. Quote:
2791: We have had some sponsors machine some of the CNCed parts of the robot, including the drivetrain sides and the hanging arm plates. Other than that, everything is student machined. Quote:
2791: Largely the same, with a bit more load shifted to the student President instead of the mentor[s]. Quote:
2791: Shaker High does not give us any financial support. Quote:
2791: Basically the same, but a smaller team means less help is available, though still much appreciated. Quote:
2791: Not enough. I think we ended up running off of about 12,000 this year. I didn't know you could run a team with that budget, but you can with clever recycling and lots of frugality. Quote:
2791: My travel fees are waived. The team doesn't have money for more of a stipend and I would refuse it if they did. The teachers get a small (~$250) compensation from the school. Quote:
2791: We didn't stick to it, but we were supposed to be discussing for a week, prototyping for a week, prototype and build together for a week, finish building over the next 2, and a week of testing. Good joke, everyone. |
Re: Mentors Input
Who builds robots/where?
-Students as much as possible at the shop Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? -We share with a pre-vo-tech class, we have our own space for tools and storage. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? -Yes, most of our budget comes from external sponsors. We don't get money from our school district, but they do cover our insurance and space. Who manages the team/students? -Adult mentors How involved is your school? -We cover two high schools for FRC and middle schools for VEX, and elementary for FLL. There is one teacher for FLL that does it as an extra job, there are no other teachers. There are some district employees, but they have children in the program. We would like them to be more involved, but it's a teacher issue. How involved are your students parents? -About 50% are very involved, 25% somewhat (we ask they will help) the rest don't help. What is your teams operating budget? -We could use more money, but ~25K. (Two regionals, 5 off season events and a robot) How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? -I gain weight during the holiday season, the long hours and stress burns most of it off by mid-march. (Not compensated) What is your typical build season schedule? -Our build calendar is here, you can see the work dates for this year. -Between VEX and FRC at the end of the Philadelphia Regional I have ~550 hours. |
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Thanks guys, but i need more people to respond. i need ammo to inspire more teachers, parents and admin. to join in. i am from the mid hudson valley region of ny, have worked with a few former teams. i prefer not to be too specific as they no longer participate and i am not here to bad mouth anyone.
i have seen all the wonders FIRST can do for young people and refuse to stop starting teams wherever i can. most everyone cares about money and resources. i just need to be able to put a few realistic stats together for people to consider. thanks again. |
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Who builds robots/where?
Kids, in the tech classroom and in the former auto shop (about 900 sq ft, ours for the whole winter, a corner for the summer for storage). On rare occasions an adult will fabricate something - for example, adults only on the table saw. Sometimes something needs to be made elsewhere, we don't have whatever machine it takes. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? Yes, but not a machine shop. We have drills, saws, a sander and a lathe. Lots of hand tools. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? No. Well, one sponsor has a CNC machine that made some plates for ue with a lot of holes in it. Designed by kids on CAD, made by sponsor, errors and all. Just saved us time versus a drill press, honestly. Who manages the team/students? Teachers and students, depends on what aspect of management. Logistics and purchasing, teachers. How involved is your school? Extremely, they see the educational value we offer. We get space, money mentors and other support from them. Partly because we insist robot students get good grades and complete all assignments even if traveling. How involved are your students parents? Extremely - not so much building, but we get dinner every night and have a strong parent organization. What is your teams operating budget? Excluding travel (which most students must pay on their own) about $20k How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? Non-teacher mentors: Free food, water, and a nice picnic in June. Teachers: A stipend much like a club mentor. What is your typical build season schedule? 3:30-9 M-F, 9-5 Saturday, all 6 weeks. Some Sundays if necessary near the end. |
Re: Mentors Input
Who builds robots/where?
We build in a 30 x 30 conference room generously given to us by Ford. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? That room is dedicated. Other than that, no. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? Only insofar as it isn't something we can do it ourselves. Who manages the team/students? It's a wash. The students manage it every bit as much as the mentors. How involved is your school? Our school? Other than our head mentor being a teacher, not much. How involved are your students parents? Very. We survive on their support. 4 of our mentors are parents, and without our volunteer parents we'd be lost. What is your teams operating budget? Between $10k and 15k a year, depending on sponsor generosity and fundraising. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? We don't. But is there any better compensation than being able to work with them, as a family? What is your typical build season schedule? The controls team is generally 5-6 days a week. Mechanical and Business, 4 days a week. |
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Although I am not a mentor, I am a team captain and work with the mentors on a daily basis so I could accurately answer these questions. (Also I'm the only active member of my team on Chief Delphi :) )
Who builds robots/where? The students with the help of the mentors build it in the old auto shop in out school. The students work hand and hand with the mentors to build the robot. The mentors are very useful when helping teach kids about engineering. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? We have a dedicated machine shop that was the old auto shop up until 5 years back. In it we have a large variety of tools. We also have use of the school's woodshop, CAD rooms, and classrooms. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? Our sponsors supply our team with money and engineers. Although we do not have any parts machined by our sponsors (that may change soon though). Who manages the team/students? We have 3 student captains and a head mentor. They both equally lead the students. How involved is your school? Not very much involved besides the space donations, but they are seemingly taking interest in us. How involved are your students parents? Very involved. Many of them mentor the students, and even more volunteer at events and help with lunches during build. Every team parent is required to supply a meal for one of the saturday sessions. What is your teams operating budget? We have a budget of $33,000 from corporate sponsors, $4,300 from student fees, and $2,000 - $5,000 from fundraisers. Team fees are $100 per year. If a student is unable to pay this, then we will work out a solution so they don't have to pay. We do this because the team pays for the lodging and hotels for all team members. Also if we attend nationals, we provide that opportunity at only $100 to the students. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? Many important experiences from robotics that we see the students learn, but also the lessons that they learn on the way. Also seeing how many students step up to the plate and learn leadership skills. What is your typical build season schedule? Monday - Friday 6-9 PM, Saturday 9-4. Not everyone is needed to attend every day though. The subteams have designated days that they have off. Team Member Requirements for Being On The Team
- Alex Dinsmoor Team 201 Captain |
Re: Mentors Input
Who builds robots/where?
Students in vo-tech classes, mentors off-site, students and mentors in our local HS with hand tools. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? No, we keep everything in boxes and bring it out to work. Been doing it that way for ~15 years IIRC. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? No. Just a little Who manages the team/students? The mentors, though a few older more experienced students can often do a good job of managing the younger ones. How involved is your school? They supply a large part of our budget and after-hours classroom space, so they are our primary sponsor at the moment. How involved are your students parents? Some parents are quite involved and bring food when possible and supply transportation, etc. Some parents think it's just a convenient place for their kids to wait for a few hours after school. What is your teams operating budget? After registering for a competition we usually have ~$3k to build the robot. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? There's no financial incentives, but there is the occasional meal :rolleyes: What is your typical build season schedule? classes over - 8pm during the week 10-8 on Saturday no access on Sundays |
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I'm not a mentor for our team (until next year!) but i can answer a number of your questions :)
1. Our students design and build the robot in the school's technology lab. We have one mentor who is a master machinist and will do our very custom parts on a CNC mill, he also helps with build and design when we're stumped (our other mentors do this as well) but the majority of the robot is student done. Looking at our robot this year, you'd be surprised how many of the parts were hand made by students. 2. We have a small room that contains a hand mill and lathe, but the school also has a room with two bansaws, a drill press, sanders, grinders, and all manner of other tools. There are also classes in the room that we build in, so we have to clean up everyday when we finish working. 3. Do you mean corp. sponsors to build for us? or machine special parts? it's a fairly ambiguous question.. we have certain special parts made, but the majority of the stuff is student done and run. 4. We have a combination of student leaders and mentors that keep everybody working and having fun. But the mentors also try to encourage the students to be a little bit self run. 5. Our school is not very involved at all. We have to have one teacher sponsor from the school (basically to say we're with the school) but other than that we're more or less unknown by the student population. The principal, surprisingly enough, has begun to show immense interest in the team and our well being. 6. Our student parents are kind of involved. We have one that is extremely involved, one set that are always willing to drive students and our trailer to competitions, and then a few who volunteer saturday lunch duty during build season. Overall, we don't have much parent involvement, but we're always welcome to new parents and mentors. 7. Our operating budget depends on how much we get from our sponsors year to year. This year we've been fairly lucky, having enough money to go to three events and still keep things cheap for the students. But i'd say most teams operate on $10,000 or more (depending on the number of events and so on) 8. None of our mentors get paid by their companies or by us, we don't require them to do anything for us, they choose to come so that they can help our future, and be a part of something good (and tons of fun, they're all kids at heart you know :) ) 9. Our typical build season schedule is meeting after school (2:10) on mondays through thursdays until around 6-9 (depending on where we are in build season) and then 9-5 on saturdays. On the last week of build season we also come in on sunday, and this year we also came friday. Also, whenever we have mondays off from school for teacher workdays, or student holidays (during build) we come in and stay 9-5. All of our times are also flexible, but we don't require anyone to be there at certain times or else, and we don't hold people from leaving. If you have any more questions feel free to contact me, we are a seven year team, located near the atlanta area. I can also put you in contact with a number of long time mentors and FIRST volunteers. Between them, i'm sure you could get all the information (and more) that you might ever need :) |
Re: Mentors Input
Who builds robots/where?
The students and mentors (with emphasis on the former) on our team design and build the robot. We work in the vo tech wing of our school district's educational center. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? We've got a couple hundred square feet of dedicated space and can use the wood shop and sewing room (clean room for programming/CAD/electronics) during builds. We also have our own lathe, metal band saws, drill presses, welder, and hand/power tools. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? No, though they do occasionally do a little machining (couple pounds per season max) that we simply don't have the resources to do in-house. Who manages the team/students? We have a Steering Committee that's made up of mentor and student leaders. The chairman of the committee is the team head mentor (the 'the buck stops here' guy). We also have a second project management mentor to allows both of them to sleep occasionally. The head mentors in each sub-team take considerable responsibility for the students (though this is rather unsurprising considering they're also the aforementioned head mentor and project manager), and we have several mentors who concentrate mostly on logistics. The student team captains and leaders assume various levels of leadership depending on the people (ranging from a few who I'm not sure knew they were captain to me, who's student-to-mentor transition was dictated mostly by the effects of a 3.5 hour commute from college). How involved is your school? [I'll use "school" to mean school district, as our students come from two different high school campuses.] Currently, we don't have any active teachers from our school district on our team. That wasn't always the case--our founder is in fact a physics teacher, but he's been on and off medical sabbatical for several years. Currently, they provide us primarily with space. This, again, was not always the case and can take considerable effort to obtain and keep: we spent the '08 build season in a stable and didn't entirely move out of my garage until last summer. The district also provides some funding. How involved are your students parents? Currently, 4 of our 14 active mentors are parents of students, including our head mentor (this ratio hasn't fluctuated a whole lot over the years). They've probably logged well over a thousand hours combined this season. Several non-mentor parents help by providing lunches, dinners, transportation (and of course their children), and some cheer us on at competitions on Saturdays. What is your teams operating budget? We like to have $25,000 in the bank come the beginning of the school year (and we haven't run a deficit for a couple years). How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? We try to pay mentors back when they buy parts, etc, though not everyone requests reimbursement. The team does offer to pay for mentor rooms for travel regionals in large part to help retirees, etc attend. What is your typical build season schedule? 1st/2nd Saturday in January-45 days later: work. 46th night: sleep. ;) For the first 2 weeks we meet 6-9PM Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday plus 10AM-8PM (sometimes 7) Saturday and 12-8PM Sunday (though some arrive earlier). For the next 4 weeks we meet every weeknight 6-9PM (sometimes 9:30) and push weekends to at least 9PM. If the students have school off and we can get into the building, we'll work that entire (week-) day as well. Anything else we can help with? |
Re: Mentors Input
Who builds robots/where?
Both mentors (college students) and high-school students. We work at several locations including West Covina High School, our practice field in a local mall, Cal Poly Pomona University, and local sponsor shops. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? Westfield has graciously provided us about 3000 square feet of space where we do most of our work and practice. However, there is no internet connection, poor lighting, and no A/C. We have a small space at the high school with our band saw, and milling machine. We also have access to the shops at Cal Poly Pomona, and the wood shop and a classroom at West Covina High. Most of the design work is done in a classroom at the high school, where we have internet services and dry erase boards, and decent lighting and A/C. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? We have sponsors do all our welding while we assist with fixturing and preparation. That alone is typically a week-long operation. Another local sponsor makes all our shafts and axles. Our partner team 254 handles a majority of the CNC machining work. Simple parts and assembly, we do in-house. Who manages the team/students? The team is managed entirely by college students: three from Cal Poly Pomona, one from Cal State Long Beach (masters program), and one from UC Riverside. There is a teacher advisor at the high-school who leads the school-club meetings. How involved is your school? We used to be very well funded by the high school. Due to budget cuts and facilities needing improvements, the team no longer receives any funding from the school. We have had difficulty getting teachers and students involved. We are fortunate to be provided a dedicated room. How involved are your students parents? Many of our students are involved in other school activities, so their participation varies. I'd say this year we had about 7 dedicated students, and about 8 others who would come every now and then. We have a few parents who provide lunches and rides, but are not otherwise involved extensively. What is your team's operating budget? This year, our budget was approximately $9,000. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? In a typical season, I estimate my involvement personally costs me over $1000. I would enjoy seeing a day where I am financially compensated for what I spend to be involved. What is your typical build season schedule? January through competition, every week day 3pm to at least 10pm (often midnight). Weekends, 1 or 2 pm to midnight and later. Mentors often work full days during welding week, beginning in the morning, if they have no class. I think these questions just barely begin to even scratch the surface of many teams' inner-workings, so feel free to ask more. :) |
Re: Mentors Input
Answering for 2177...
Who builds robots/where? It's an equal combination of mentors and students. Generally speaking, the mentors do almost nothing alone, while some of the veteran students can take tasks and work autonomously (sometimes for entire meetings). Our build space is located off-campus, at a place the school started renting for us. We ended up there mostly because of a machine shop that sponsored the team for several years worked in the same building. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? yes, off-campus. This is the first year it's really been dedicated, however. Previously, we've had to move around to a different location/room in the building each year. The school signed a 3-year lease and renovated the space for our needs, and we officially moved in the week before kickoff. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? Yes and no. Boston Scientific donates a significant amount to the team, as do other corporate sponsors. Additionally, the teams 4 mentors all work there and became involved with the team through the company. Further, the machine shop at Boston Scientific donates some time every year when we have parts that are beyond the abilities of the equipment the team owns. Who manages the team/students? There are 4 professional engineers serving as mentors with the team, and 3 teachers from the school. Managing the team is really a group effort, however one of the teachers is the official adviser for the team and does more work as such, and one of the engineers works as a "lead mentor", essentially responsible for ensuring building the robot happens smoothly. How involved is your school? More involved every year. As already mentioned, the school has signed a 3-year lease on a build space for the team. Additionally, a major school donor helped fund the team when it was starting up, and the school has also helped donate money to purchase equipment. 3 teachers from the school work with the team this year (last year there were 2, the year before that 1). How involved are your students parents? Every Saturday the parents bring in lunch for the students. Some of the parents also donate time with the team on specific, non-robot related tasks - mascot costume, building a practice field. What is your teams operating budget? too much :) We attend two regionals every year and put an extra ~$1000 worth of parts on the robot that aren't included in the KoP. One of the regionals is in town, so we don't have to pay for any travel, but the other is out of town. Bus + hotel rooms for 30 people adds up quickly. Plus we try to set some aside every year to buy more equipment. If the school doesn't have any equipment already, you can expect to spend $500-$1000 right off the bat gearing up the team. If your regional is in town, you would only really need the price of the KoP and regional, plus some extra for more parts. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? I get to put it down as one of my performance objectives for the year, which can help give me a little extra boost when compared to my coworkers. I believe the team adviser from the school gets a small additional stipend. What is your typical build season schedule? Monday-Thursday 7-9 (sometimes 6-9 if needed) Saturday 9-4 Expect that to go out the window the last week of the build season, however. The weekend before ship, we typically plan 6-midnight on Friday, 9-4 on Saturday (the school usually has a dance that week that we have to stop for. It can be great seeing students show up with curlers in their hair to work on the robot!), 3-9 Sunday and 6-whenever Monday. One thing can't be over-emphasized for a new team with new mentors - this is a BIG commitment. It is extremely difficult to have other social engagements during the build season - the few nights you have off you'd rather get some sleep than go out and do stuff. It is incredibly fun and rewarding though, which more than makes up for it. |
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Who builds robots/where? Students and mentors working together. Students do all the machining that doesn't require complex or difficult setups, which is just a couple parts per year. Most of us engineers are usless without the students to help us. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? We have a shop at the high school shared with classes. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? Not at all. Who manages the team/students? Students. How involved is your school? Not very. The school does little for the team and usually gets in the way due to a litigation happy locality. How involved are your students parents? Not very much until recently. The parents now run the fundraising side of the team. What is your teams operating budget? $15,000-20,000 for the last 6 or so years, depending on what our secondary sponsors can give. This covers one regional the championship our build budget and bus transport to our local regional. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? The mentors that work for our primary sponsor get travel covered and teams days comped by the company. I not working there anymore as well as the other mentors usually spend about $1000 dollars a year on materials to alleviate our budget pressures. What is your typical build season schedule? Wed & Thurs 5-8, Sat 10-5, Sun 12-5 We don't meet during mid-terms or on snow days because of school rules. Also we have about 7 dedicated engineer and 4 teacher mentors with a group of 4 or 5 "retired mentors" that we can call in a pinch if we need them. |
Re: Mentors Input
Who builds robots/where?
816 builds our robot in the Shop Attached to our Pre-Engineering Classroom, and the robot is primarily student build. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? Yes, and no. 816's team is based primarily out of the Pre-Engineering Program at BCIT Westampton, and the head mentor is the Pre-Engineering Teacher so the Robotics team essentially takes over the space during build season but it returns to being a classroom after build. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? No, we don't really have any corp. sponsors... Who manages the team/students? The head mentor/Pre-Engineering teacher manages the majority of things. How involved is your school? BCIT Westampton gives the robotics program money each year, but other than that they're not really involved. How involved are your students parents? This varies. Some parents are very involved and travel with the team (my mom did when I was in HS) and others just help here and there. What is your teams operating budget? Anywhere between 15k - 20k per year. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? I am not compensated as I volunteer and I also pay for my own travel, but the mentors/advisors from the school are compensated similarly to sports coaches. Also, the mentor/advisors do not pay to travel, except in some cases. What is your typical build season schedule? Monday - Thursday 3pm - 9pm, Friday 3pm - 5:30pm, Saturdays 9am - 3pm, Some Sundays and Holidays follow the Saturday Schedule. |
Re: Mentors Input
832 Oscar:
Who builds robots/where? Students and mentors build the robot. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? We build our bots here at the school in the Engineering Lab. No real machine shop to speak of but we have a small shop. We have Internet access, lots of basic tools, drill presses and band saws. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? Most of our mentors are from parents of former/present students, or former students. We have some corporate mentors that come in now and then. We also have the support of a place that does water-jetting and machining for us, which helps immensely! Who manages the team/students? I do a lot of the management, but the students do as much as I can get them to do! How involved is your school? The school is supportive in spirit, but not too materially. They pay for my sub when I go to competitions. How involved are your students parents? Besides the ones that mentor not as involved as I would like them to be. Sometimes it's hard to scare up enough drivers/chaperons to go to a competition. What is your teams operating budget? We generally get about 15-20K from corporate sponsors. We also have club dues, about $100 per student per year. We also do fund raising to supplement our operating expenses. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? That's about it. But we can dream. I always lose money on this deal! What is your typical build season schedule? We meet twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays after school. As build season progresses, we work more, including Saturdays. The last couple of WE we usually work Sat and Sun. One year we worked 22 days straight, WE, holidays and nights. Don't get into this if you want a life from January through mid February (besides a FIRST life)! |
Re: Mentors Input
For those of you, mentors, with shops - Does your school and or district support you with machinery, hand tools etc. to aid in building and teaching students real world skills?
I am noticing a trend in students needing to be micro-management, more than i've ever noticed previously. Is this due to the fast paced world of FIRST or is it a trend in society? im not bashing, just ranting. |
Re: Mentors Input
Who builds robots/where?
The students build the robot with mentor input in the high school shop and practice in our team building right next to the shop on the full sized playing field. Every student on the team has input on the robot and what it should do and accomplish for the season. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? Yes. See above answer. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? We do not rely on corporations and sponsors to help us build the robot, me more so rely on them to remain our business partners and fund us year after year. Who manages the team/students? We have three team advisors, two are teachers and one is an engineer. Then we have seven or so mentors. How involved is your school? The school is extremely involved, providing the team with funding and the administration comes to the competitions and comes to check things out during build season. How involved are your students parents? The students parents are very involved, mentoring and having a parent organization. What is your teams operating budget? A lot. lol Sorry for not being specific. We usually to two or three regionals, championship, and three off season events. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? Not sure what you mean here, but I get to have fun with the kids and watching learn and be proud of what they accomplished. What is your typical build season schedule? Everyday after school from 3 to 9 except Fridays, and then Saturday 9 to 4. If we had bad weather that year we then come in on Sundays too. Ok, I hope this helps you. If you have more questions post them, or feel free to PM me. Cass |
Re: Mentors Input
Who builds robots? / Where?
The students build the robot in the school's tech shop. We have lathes, mills, a sand blasting cabinet and a small CNC machine available to make parts. Do you have a dedicated machine shop? See above. Do you reply on corporate sponsors? Yes. One of our corporate sponsors is an industrial plastics company and they weld and fabricate some plastic components for us. Who manages the team? The lead teacher manages the team and coordinates part of the build. How involved is your school? The first two years the school was not involved at all. They didn't have any interest in the team. After we won two regionals last year, the school decided to give us a small amount of support. How involved are the parents? A few of the parents are actively involved, bringing food to meetings and driving to regionals. What is your budget? Each year we go to two regionals. The money for the regionals, the championship (if we go) and the KOP is provided by the school board which is very supportive of the FIRST program and supports teams in a number of schools across the city. The money to build the robot is provided by our sponsors and is usually around $2000. How are you compensated? Mentors sometimes get free food, but their work is all volunteer. What is your typical build season schedule? We usually work:
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Re: Mentors Input
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As for micro-managing, i think it has more to do with experience than anything else. The less experience a team member has, the more they need you hovering over them. Being an all-girls team, we may have a fairly unique situation - almost all of our students come in not knowing how to use even the simplest tools. They didn't grow up following their dad's around the house fixing things, building bird houses or pinewood derby cars for cub scouts. So for us at least, it's a lot of micro managing and 1-1 work with the students to educate them in the tools and techniques... but once they learn that, we can start to back off and let them work things out for themselves. After a year or two on the team, we actually expect the students to be able to work autonomously, at least for short (1-2 hours) periods of time. |
Re: Mentors Input
Who builds robots/where?
Mainly students, mentors give input but try not to touch the bot a whole lot Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? it's a classroom shared with a couple classes, the team has maybe 1/3 dedicated, and lots of table space in the other 2/3 Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? not really Who manages the team/students? All parents and a couple teachers How involved is your school? In previous years not a whole lot, in more recent years we've been trying to get the school more involved How involved are your students parents? Parents who are engineers tend to come in often, parents who like organizing help a lot with bringing food for meetings and small things like that What is your teams operating budget? How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? Our main mentor is considered a "coach" with the school and gets paid a relatively small amount, we've rotated mentors a lot in recent years but in the past they have mostly donated this back to the team What is your typical build season schedule? week schedule: 1-2: Design/prototype 3-5: Build/Test/Break cycle 6: scramble to fix every broken per day: 3:10(school gets out) - 7 F 3:10 - 8 or 9 S: 10-7 Su: off unless needed |
Re: Mentors Input
Who builds robots/where?
2815 (and, this year, 1398) built their robots in USC's College of Engineering and Computing machine shop. Mentors handled the lion's share of the machining (for both training and liability purposes), then students handled most of the assembly. (Notable exceptions included building the first gearbox assembly as a reference and the final-weekend push where all of our kids were already working on things. Even my girlfriend the photographer/journalism major got in on the act then.) Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? We share our space in the student projects room during the season with other USC competition teams (solar boat, Formula SAE, etc.). The machine shop is used by many projects within the college. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? We receive a great deal of funding from Richland One, state agencies, and the University. Who manages the team/students? For the past two seasons we've been lucky to have Stephen Kowski (once of 312, then 1369, then a stint on 1902) as a graduate student and lead (tor)mentor. Donn Griffith (once of 281, then 343, then FIRST HQ) handles some of the administrative things as well on the USC end. Richland One teachers handle the relevant school issues, such as field trip paperwork. How involved is your school? Not as much as with other teams I've been involved with, mostly due to our setup as a district-wide team; any of Richland One's eight schools (other than W.J. Keenan High, which has had 1398 for seven years) can join us. We still value involvement of our teachers, though! How involved are your students parents? It varies; some work with us as full-on mentors, others come just to watch, others I wouldn't know if I saw them on the street. What is your teams operating budget? I don't have the figures on this one, so I'm going to pass. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? The team covers our lodging and mileage; that's fine by me. What is your typical build season schedule? Our rookie year, we met five nights a week (and the occasional Saturday). This year we only met three nights a week and Saturdays until the last couple of weeks where we hit panic mode. (We still weren't quite finished.) |
Re: Mentors Input
My team is in its fourteenth year of existence. Every year has been successful in that we have built a robot and competed with it, and have inspired our young people. Some years were more successful at competitions than others. We have been a regional champion twice, a regional finalist more times than I care to count, and even a national finalist once, many years ago. Many of our alums have gone into engineering, science, and technology. My responses are strictly mine. My colleagues may see things a bit differently.
Who builds robots/where? We build in the shop area of one of our schools. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? We share with the HS shop classes. The teacher is one of our mentors. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? No. Who manages the team/students? A representative from each of the schools involved is responsible for the students from that school, but any mentor has the right and responsibility to mentor and correct any student needing attention. How involved is your school? For all of us, moral support, some monetary support, and the site is about it. How involved are your students parents? This varies. We try to involve them at least in providing lunches on Saturdays. Once we can get them to a competition, they're usually hooked. We are a black hole. Several of our mentore are actually the parents of our alumni. What is your teams operating budget? We can do one regional on 10-14 K. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? Just that. What is your typical build season schedule? Monday through Thursday, 5 to 8-ish. Plus Saturday, 9 to 4 or 9, depending on the week. As it gets closer to ship date, the ending time gets later. I have many more questions and concerns, but this is a starter thread. |
Re: Mentors Input
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Who builds robots/where? School Shop, it is OUR space. Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? Yes, we have our rooms Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? No. Who manages the team/students? Currently, a Kettering Student. She does one amazing job considering taking classes while managing an FRC team. How involved is your school? I prefer not to discuss this How involved are your students parents? 2 of the parents are incredibly involved. The rest... not so much What is your teams operating budget? If we go to States, ~12000. Otherwise ~8000. We could have shaved a bit of money off if we hadn't went to West Michigan and had to pay for hotels. How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? Technically speaking I am paid by Kettering to mentor an FRC team. I am paid in food and $300 a year from KU for doing recruitment. Kinda a sweet gig because I was planing on mentoring anyway. I am also compensated by meeting industry leaders... great networking. What is your typical build season schedule? M-F 230-6 Sat 10-4/6. Meetings can be extended as needed. 2337 Who builds robots/where? Premier Tooling Do you have dedicated space/machine shop? Yes, Premier donated 2 rooms for team use as well as access to machines. Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build? No, machining is done by mentors or students. Usually students. Who manages the team/students? A mentor How involved is your school? I am not sure. How involved are your students parents? Incredibly, a good number of mentors are parents What is your teams operating budget? I am not 100% sure How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow? See above What is your typical build season schedule? M-Th 6-9 Sat 9-9 Sun 9-9 (if needed) All meetings can be extended. |
Re: Mentors Input
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