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Originally Posted by Angela H.
Did you all ever consider working with I-poly High School? This seems like something that would be perfect for them. I don't know all that much about them but it's just an idea. Let me know.
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Currently I-Poly is going through some hard times, and it would probably be a bad time to try to get a team going with them in connection with Cal Poly. I am not sure if you know the history of I-Poly, but there are very few students and the actual 'school' itself is nothing more than a handful of portables at the edge of campus. The other problem is shop access and the limited resources that Cal Poly is willing to share. This is my fourth year at Cal Poly, and every year we wind up at the local adult education school enrolled in the machine shop class, simply because we cannot get access for long enough, or at the random times we need to make stuff. (random being past 3-5pm most of the time) Even still, the tooling that the school has is very limited.
Angela, I would recommend pursuing those other 3 high schools I mentioned. I do recall vaguely that they showed some interest in FIRST in the past and might be a good place to start. But again, like Bill mentioned, and to add to what Chris said, there are alot of 'untapped' resources, but the problems isn't always what is out there, but having the people to get it for you. I know personally, 968 struggles every year to stay afloat with money and leadership/mentor help. My point is you really need a dedicated group of people making sure that the team will succeed long before you register for the competition. I would suggest a minimum of 2 teachers, and 5 mentors of some sort, be it college students, engineers, or parents. Anything less and it will be difficult to make successful.