Elite (invite only) FIRST teams

[ManicMechanic]

Originally Posted by CraigHickman

EDIT: This team wouldn't be based at a normal public high school. Instead, it would be based at a Middle College program, which is only populated by students who are either not very involved in the public school system, or who are far in advance of the normal schooling level. That locale would ensure a fairly professional applicant field.

I'm wondering if you will find the population that you're seeking at a Middle College program. I teach at a Community College which has an affiliated Middle College. While there is a wide range in the quality and level of education at various CC's and MC's, often the level of the average MC student is even below that of the local public high schools. Many of the MC students I've seen are those who struggle in high school for various reasons, including social ones. Because of the prevalence of IB/AP, many talented HS students choose to receive public HS education, rather than prematurely move into college. My son's (pre-AP) high school intermediate algebra course was far more rigorous than the one that I teach at the local CC; this is the course that some of the most advanced MC students take for their HS math requirement.

Our CC offered a LEGO robotics class to MC students, but it was not as successful as hoped, because the students seemed to lack motivation to do anything, including robotics. When they were done, few had a sufficient grasp of robotics to program the robot to do more than move forward. In contrast, local elementary school students ate up the same material and performed spectacularly at a local FLL tournament.