[techhelpbb]

As far as mentors are concerned I've found that if you can find the right teachers from other districts they are often very happy to help out.

Sometimes teachers from the same school don't like the idea of remaining at their day job for what could be a 14 hour day. So sometimes you need to shop the idea around a little.

Also as far as community support is concerned with careful time management you can often soften the blow for outside companies. I know several companies that had to withdraw support from FIRST not because they don't like the program but because it dragged down on them in particular too much.

Shop around the community and ask for little commitments of resources and most importantly do that year round.

You'll find people's garages, malls with indoor areas, people with small home shops and businesses just about anywhere that can support a team and if you don't push them too hard you'll grow. Also don't forget to ask other nearby teams. Often veteran teams are extremely helpful. I know Team 11 has cooperated often with nearby teams.

I also strongly recommend making sure you take care of your business issues like setting up legit charitable organizations. The less support you have from existing infrastructure the more important it is that donors and the community at large know you're legit.

There are several robotics 'schools' popping up in Northern New Jersey right now. Privately held organizations with students of the high school and younger ages. I almost ended up in a weekly situation teaching at one. It occurs to me that such ventures run quite parallel to the direction of U.S. FIRST and joining yourselves together might have good symbiosis.

Another angle is to try to starting out slower than FRC and work with FLL. As an FLL judge for the last few years I find that these groups tend to be smaller and more self-contained. Getting the students and parents involved at that level might directly fertilize support within both the schools and the community. Don't discount even home schooled folks, we've had a few pop up with FLL teams at competition and that's a great opportunity for them to interact socially and with the community.

Just remember this is a community experience. The schools are wrong to be protective over these sorts of things. They serve a function to that same community and they should be thrilled that the often over-expensive vocational programs they are often shutting down are being picked up in part by community resources. As a vocational student myself I can say that schools used to ask the community what they needed from students and sometimes they delievered. Through FIRST those same businesses are far more actively engaged then just talking about what they need.