We need your support!

[Joe Matt]

We have a school like that back in Richmond VA, Hermitage Tech Center, 510 I believe. I'd talk to them about what they do. They are another place that has a 2 year turn around, and they compete very well against well established teams that can draw from a 4 year pool of students.

[JohnBoucher]

My advice about dealing with school boards, is to NOT upset them. They have long memories. They also have their reasons for doing what they did. You might never know what the real reason is, but there is a reason.

A measured response is best.

Also use your senior mentor, Jenny Beatty. She is a great resource. Let her suggest the direction to take.

Good Luck.

Don't forget VEX. If you need to step back, it's an option.

[OZ_341]

I suggest a face to face meeting as well. An email campaign will only create barriers to discussion. What you want is a win-win situation.

Listen carefully to her concerns and then think about how you could address them and still meet your goals. It may require both parties to be creative and think outside the box.

Good luck!

[ShortBang]

Originally Posted by JohnBoucher

My advice about dealing with school boards, is to NOT upset them. They have long memories. They also have their reasons for doing what they did. You might never know what the real reason is, but there is a reason.

A measured response is best.

Also use your senior mentor, Jenny Beatty. She is a great resource. Let her suggest the direction to take.

Good Luck.

Don't forget VEX. If you need to step back, it's an option.

Its not the school board. This is Mrs. Engels decision completely.

My apologies for the breach of etiquette. I'll remover her email as soon as i figure out how to edit the post. If you are so compelled, email it to me(Chizmeister101@aol.com), and ill deliver it to her in person.

I realize most of the posts are from mentors, but to me it sounds like most of you are saying that theres not much we can do about this. But I don't want to let such a decision stand between some kids, and a great time. i know there are kids that wish to join that have wanted to for a few years, and now they are being denied that chance. One of them has a sister that was a founding member of the team. that was three years ago, and now we have to tell him he cant follow in her footsteps? (btw, she didn't attend the tech center either.)

I would like to mention that we have tried a few different ideas. we let it be known at the end of last year when this idea was first proposed that we didn't agree with it. and by we i mean most, if not all of the youth members of the team, and quite a few adults. Then at the very end of last year, another team member floated the idea of if this did happen, to start a team at another school, and let it open to everybody, and he told me that Mrs. Engel wasn't too happy about that idea.

don't get me wrong, i think Mrs Engel is a great principal, but i feel that a County team, and thats what it was started as, and what it was when the school board gave us money last year, and what our sponsors donated to, should be open to the whole county. I hope some of you feel the same way as I do, and if you don't, well thats the great thing about our country.

[Adama]

Shortbang- be careful not to villanize Mrs Engel lest she actually check these boards or the statements said here accidently make their way to her. If you do villanize her it will make her much more unlikely to negotiate with you.

[ShortBang]

If it sounds like I'm villanizing her, i don't mean to. She's definitely a great help to the team, and we couldn't of done it without her. But, she's still the one that had the final say in not letting those who dont attend the tech center in. As great as she can be, and as nice as she is, I have to disagree with her decision.

[KenWittlief]

looking back through this thread I dont see any reason given for why this change was made.

Do you know why the membership rules were changed? If your teacher is a FIRST mentor Im going to assume she is very dedicated, and understands the purpose and goals of the program. You need to find the reasons behind the changes, then you can address possible alternatives or workarounds.

Simply getting a lot of people to tell her they dont like it, or its not fair, is not addressing the root cause of the issue.

[ShortBang]

From the conversations that took place last year, the only reason i can rember is a mix between making the team more streamlined, and the fact that we use alot of the tech centers equipment, and resources.

We have our first meeting tommorow. Hopefully all goes well.