Mentoring New Team

[KC1AJT]

Originally Posted by Michael Kaurich

If you are looking for another new rookie mentor to talk to... I am your guy!

Our team is in a similar situation down here in Baltimore (NASA rookie grant, about 7 dedicated students, two mentors) we are not school based however. The teacher that applied for the NASA grant seems to have a handle on the school bureaucracy part. Transport, while under 30 mins away, is still something you should look into. Different districts have different rules.

Thanks Michael. We are still looking at transportation options. Buses would be a very big expense, so we're hoping to carpool. I will have to look into any policy that may get in the way of crossing state lines, though.

[Donut]

Originally Posted by KC1AJT

Thanks Michael. We are still looking at transportation options. Buses would be a very big expense, so we're hoping to carpool. I will have to look into any policy that may get in the way of crossing state lines, though.

Definitely find out your transportation rules, or have the lead teacher find out. All of the school districts I have worked with do not allow carpooling, anything other than a student transporting themselves or their parent transporting them is a no no for liability concerns.

Find out if the teacher can get certified to drive a school van or small bus. We used a small bus that sat 16 two years ago and it saves quite a bit since there is no driver cost. We even transported our robot and tools in it. Our competition was local though, we would not have been allowed to take it out of state.

If you will be the lead engineer/mentor, and likely the lead parts buyer and designer as a result, find out about purchasing options from your school's bookstore or district finance office. This has probably been the most important task I have managed as our team's lead mentor and one of the most frustrating. Many schools only allow spending with purchase orders to approved vendors, and the process to become approved if a vendor is not already there can take weeks. Lead times can be an issue (I've waited up to 8 weeks on a PO to process when our bookstore had turnover) and you may find you aren't allowed to use certain vendors, as I just did for Home Depot . You'll have to judge what makes sense to get through the team and when it is time for a donation on your personal card for a quick part from Vex you need now.


It sounds like you've got a solid plan on setting up team meetings that won't burn out your resources, and lots of good advice already on design practices and team management. Go simple and robust your first year (or all years!) and have fun.