Since FIRST does not dictate how a team is structured, many teams do not recognize NEMs or parents as "mentors" - only the technical people or engineers are considered mentors.
I have very strong opinions on this!
FRC teams are most often small businesses which need the business people, human resource people, marketing, etc. in order to be successful. So I'm surprised when I encounter teams which do not recognize all of the adults who work with students as equal "mentors." If a team has done sufficient teambuilding in the fall they will discover that there is no room for attitudes from any member of the team, adult or student.
If you're not familiar with NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentor Organization) please visit our website to learn more:
www.firstnemo.org.