How much does your school support your FIRST Team?

[machetemonkey]

I'm really not sure how to feel about the support our team gets.

Our school is small (~260 kids grades 7-12), and the administration has been helpful whenever we need it. Although not financially supportive at all, our director has been supportive throughout, helping us contact other schools for potential team members and helping us figure out how to be financially independent, keeping track of our own finances as opposed to going through the school (which becomes very beauroucratic). Our teachers have been supportive, with one mentoring us (his mentorship is no longer hands on, but he continues to help greatly with organization and networking), and most teachers acknowledging the challenges of the build season and helping us out (extensions on assignments during the final build week, etc).

However, as far as student support goes, our team is next to nothing. Everyone in the school is well aware of our existence, yet doesn't give us a second thought. The school is well on its way to recognizing FRC as a sport within our school community, however the students don't care. Our cheerleaders, despite our reminding them of how FRC is technically a sport in our school, or on a same level, have flat-out refused to cheer at our competitions, because we're viewed as too geeky or nerdy for them.

Oh well. I'm incredibly grateful for our administration's support, especially in helping us become more independent of our school specifically and work more as a collective of different schools. As for the student body, they'll come around with time.