263 needs help.

[RoboMom]

Matt, many teams have gone through a variation of what your team is experiencing

1)It sounds like a lot is going on with restructuring the schools in the systems.The school board, the teachers, the administration aren't the enemy. Your job, along with the hard core teammates, your parents, your mentors is to help them understand what FIRST is about.

2) Like most FIRST school-based teams, you need a teacher. (I think 294S situation is unusual in that there is so much liability associated with teams.) Is there at least one teacher willing to take this on as the lead adviser? Best would be a teacher from each school. This is key. FIRST is tough on teachers and mentors. Have this teacher join NEMO for support.

3) Contact the school board and make sure you are on the calendar. Don't just show up. Prepare an agenda and stick to it. Prepare a presentation. Bring the robot. Keep this to 10-15 minutes. Talk about the scholarships available ($4.5 million last year). Do you have any information on what your alumni is doing now? Can you get any testimonials from them? Talk about fund raising and the business skills that are a part of any successful program. Do you have the funding set for the coming year for at least one competition? I couldn't tell whether the school has funded you in the past. Be very clear in what you are asking for.

4)If you think it will help, I can send you a copy of the testimonial written by the president of all the school boards in Maryland, about our team, but really about the benefits of FIRST. PM me with an address.

[KathieK]

RAGE has always had students from multiple high schools. We feel it is one of our strengths. There are issues we need to overcome each year, like asking permission of each school board to travel, but it can be done. The key to having a team with multiple high schools is organization. If you get off the ground, be sure to elect a team student liaison from each school. His/her responsibility would be to get the policies for travel, permission slips, and anything administrative like that from each high school. Policies vary from school to school and you want to be sure to meet each school's expectations.

Don't forget to look at the FIRST website for materials. The Annual report and other media materials provide a wealth of information that is presented in a professional format for you to use.