Our team is located in a school district that has three public high schools. There are also two private high schools, and a few charter schools located within the boundaries of the district.
We have always maintained a policy of inclusiveness, and welcome students from any of the schools. This year we have students from all three public schools and one of the private schools. Previous years have had students from some of the other schools, and we have also welcomed members from outside the district and did not have access to a team. The makeup changes every year.
During the fall, we hold recruitment events at all three public schools and sometimes at the private schools. We also try to rotate the team meetings around to all three public schools, as we have better access there than at the private schools. Once build season is underway, we work exclusively from one of the schools where we have our storage space and access to shop facilities.
This year we have teacher mentors from two of the public high schools, and also from the district-wide Project Lead The Way team, which teaches combined classes that are held at a local Jr. college.
We have, and have had, student leadership from all the schools. One of the great things I enjoy about the team is that unless they happen to be wearing something that indicates their school affiliation, I can’t tell or remember who goes to school where.
The biggest problem we have had to overcome has been communication with the students spread across multiple buildings. It’s especially hard at the schools where we do not have teacher mentors in place. So we primarily communicate using a combination of email distribution lists, text messages, and a FaceBook group, as it seems that no one method reaches everyone.