URGENT Team shutting down, need help to bring it back!

FIRST General Forum
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Hello!
I am from a team in Western Canada and recently we have run into quite a few issues, first one of our engineer mentors was kicked off of the team due to behaviour that was not accepted in the school board which caused drama in our team, and now one of our lead mentors is leaving the club because of a complaint from one of the students on the team made a complaint against the teacher.
I am the captain for the first time this year and was really involved in the team for the past two years, and I really don’t want to see this club shut down in my first year of running it. The main issue is that no teachers want to volunteer to supervise us which cuts us down to 1 maybe 2 hours a week of build time. This is a huge problem as we really want to have a competitive advantage this year.
I have a meeting planned with the principal to discuss the future of the club, what are your favourite parts/ benefits of FIRST so I can relay them to my school & does anyone have any advice?

EDIT : with the situation with the mentors and teachers I have not been told anything other than what has been mentioned above and have been told to discuss it with the principal. I emailed the last teacher and asked if there would be any way to revive the club and she said that the club should be shut down…
Our team has already paid (and fundraised by ourselves!!) 15k that has gone towards parts and registration and we still have around 5k left over. I am not sure where this money will go and what the school
will do with it. We also have 4 sponsors that are expecting the sponsor benefits and a breakdown of where the money was spent (one sponsor donated 7k…)

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We recently went through a similar rough patch of not having a coach. Is there any possibility that someone outside of your school could step up and coach? For us, an alumni saw we were missing a coach and stepped up to be an interim coach until we received a permanent one.

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That’s a really tough position to be in. Teams sometimes operate out of garages or share space with other teams if the school can’t provide resources, but that might be too disruptive for your team.

Is STEM education or college acceptance rates overarching goals for the school? Pretty easy to link FRC to those goals when you’re making your case to the principal.

Given you only have a few hours a week, are you be able to get your teammates to work together on something like the kitbot or REV starter bot? It might be important to show that the team can make progress and isn’t completely falling apart.

Who are the most influential allies you have available to you right now? Any parents or dedicated mentors? I imagine it’ll be difficult to accomplish everything yourself.

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If you don’t mind us asking, which part of Western Canada? AC Robotics (Alberta’s FIRST Alumni Group) would be more than happy to lend a hand

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How are you supposed to go on a field trip to Victoria with no teachers? The first and second incidents may have caused the team to be viewed as a onerous thankless liability for any teacher’s career at this point.

Get the parents involved if they aren’t already. The most likely positive outcome is the parents take over the supervision and you build a robot in someone’s garage. (Don’t expect any access to school tools).

And maybe apologize to the last teacher too…

Edit: If you’re in BC, I can help advise your parents and possibly lend you an Everybot claw etc.

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Obviously remote mentors will not help with building access or tool access, but do you have technical knowledge for the other areas and just have an issue of physical working time or would having remote mentors help you get enough done during the time you do get?

It’s entirely possible teams on here may be able to provide remote assistance for 80% of the problems that a parent following a guidebook wouldn’t know.

Edit: further info to help us help you.

What are your team goals for this year? Do you have parts already? Maybe this a great year for a KitBot which can be done in a rapid short time frame and there are guides for this.

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IF I read this correctly, you lost one Mentor due them not showing Gracious Professionalism to the school board and one because a team member didn’t get an award and complained to the district or the school…it seams the problems are being understated. I fear that there is more to the story.

The Mentor (not knowing the “issue” at hand) should not have done what they did. I am sure I am not the only one to have issues with their respective board members…in a public setting, we must afford ourselves in a professional manner…whilst still calling them out on the issue at hand.

The student that didn’t get an award. I presume that it was an internal, team award. Again…not knowing the circumstances…every team that is in FRC does not get an award. We are the poster team for not getting awards from FRC. Potentially there is more to this story. IF this was looked at from the outside…and it is…this is petty. However, even if this was looked at from a non biased viewpoint…this is petty. Petty on the student, petty on the mentor. This is based on the info given…an initial blush. It could change with more info.

As for the teachers…I am shocked that no one wants to help. Do they get paid extra to be apart of the team as a school sponsor? I know in our team, our sponsor teacher gets extra for this additional duty.

As for your meeting with the principal…I would ask that the meeting happens with the team as well…even if it is after your meeting. Heck, get the superintendent and board members there as well. Show them around. Explain why this team is not only important to y’all…it is also important to the district as well. I would tell them to watch the Woody Flowers speech before a decision is made. I would add that parents and boosters should be at this. And any outside contributors (sponsors) to the team.

This could be your Impact Award. Explaining how the Team and FRC is important to y’all.

Bottom line, while not ideal, explain that your team that has been around for how ever long, will end before your crowning achievement. And that it may take years again to get to this pinnacle IF the team ends now. All the knowledge lost. The district and the team will have to accept it’s fate…and shutter. IF this happens, remind them of the cost of the program up to this date. As a parent, I love showing that to the district. Even as a Mentor…

I think there are a lot of people in your corner. IF the district won’t help (and I as a parent would make a big deal about it), look to the community you live in for help and ask them to make a big deal about it. Maybe start a community based team if your team shutters. The one thing that the district (if they refuse to help) can’t take away from you is your knowledge.

There is some great ideas so far above this comment…and some that may be better below this one. You asked for advice…be honest and forthcoming to them. For this to happen after kick off…and scheduled matches right around the corner…is just cruel on their part.

I just thought of something…have any of the board members or admin of your district or high school seen y’all in action? Either at matches or behind the scenes at home or both? If not, how can they make an informed decision about shuttering the team? Heck, ask the principal to sponsor the team. IF there is a stipend they would get it.

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This. So much this. My team has made an effort for our school administration, school board and superintendent to know who we are and what we do. We go to school board meetings and invite them to our shop, and explain what we do, and why their support matters, we invite them to competition as well, which is easier as we host a district event, and may not be as easy for you. We’ve made ourselves known to the people in our school district that matter, and it’s gotten my team so very far. It’s secured us our shop space, and that’s stayed true as different teachers are in control of the space. Go to school board meetings, sign up for public comment, and tell them what you do. It’s a welcome change for them from the normal complaints that happen at school board meetings, and it will help you so much.

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We had a community event…in our cafeteria (as a starting point for tours of the work area)…a fund raiser if you will, last semester. Invited the school board, community, and admin of the district. Community showed up (somewhat), superintendent showed up. It disgusted me that a board of elected members refused to show up…oh, they will travel hundreds of miles for a football game…they couldn’t or wouldn’t show up to meet these kids that work so hard after school learning things that are not really offered during the school day. We had our principal show up to to a match 2 years ago…we went to State (DC) that year…and last year…and hopefully this year…thanks to our community. The district…somewhat.

We invite everyone in the district to go see us compete. Parents show up. District adults refuse to…hence my issue with the board. I guess that since emails don’t work, I will have to do it the old fashion way…be a commenter at the meeting…to remind them of the matches this year.

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My team has a similar issue. We pull from 2 high schools and are viewed as a “club” by the school district. This means we’re allowed 2 faculty/staff members (one per school) as “advisers”, and they get a flat annual stipend from the school that equates to something like $1.57/hour. We have 1 teacher running the team since the beginning, and nobody else has been willing. No teachers, no admin staff, nobody. From the entire district, not just the two high schools. We resorted to convincing them to allow a parent to go through the “hiring” process (background check, fingerprinting, references, etc) just so we have a second person that can hold keys and allow us to be in the school.

And I know we’re not alone in this. The stipend exists, but is nowhere near enough to attract others to help.

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There is a rule in our school board where a teacher hired at the school has to supervise students at all times, the rule makes sense but it hard for us as a team as many teachers are not willing to take on the extra work. so its not very possible to have someone outside the school supervise :frowning:

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Right now we only have one teacher that is willing to supervise but she doesn’t want to take on the lead mentor role, and with our school board we have to go through an extensive process to approve any out of school mentors + they have to be supervised by teachers. We are also not allowed to take any or robot parts out of the school

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I really do feel bad for all of the teachers who are involved and I do understand the risk that teachers might feel when joining the club. We do really need teachers and I do believe that these were isolated incidents (mentor that was removed was the mother of the student who didn’t get the award) and that they should not happen again.
The teacher who left put a lot of work on themselves and I could tell how much they liked the club.
It will be a bit hard as the teachers might feel like they have to carry the same workload but in reality we need just someone to supervise

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Im not sure if we have any funds for teachers staying afterschool, i will definitely ask

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This might be useful, as it lists the responsibilities of the Lead Mentor. The role is primarily administrative, and doesn’t require any technical knowledge.

I have to agree with some of the other posters who are wondering just how bad the interpersonal conflicts are in the team. If the situation is such a minefield that it’s scaring off teachers who would otherwise be interested then that’s got to be addressed.

That’s why I was asking about whether the team might be able to work on something pre-designed. Taking off the load of design might mean you’re able to, as a team, focus on building the robot and ensure you have something to show at the end of the season. If the students are able to work together in a professional manner, then it makes the teachers’ job easier too.

You might have to cut students if they’re going to be more disruptive than helpful.

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Likely not something you need to concern yourself with as a student. The stipend I mentioned is generally offered by the school (employer) to the teacher (employee), regardless of whether they’re doing robotics, chess club, model UN, or whatever else.

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You say that you have been told not to communicate with a neighbor team. Who told you that? Is the other team wanting to distance themselves from you for fear of being caught up in the mess or did someone in your school tell you that. If it is the other team, while unfortunate, I do understand their concern and you should respect their decision. If it was someone in your school, do challenge that command. Reaching out to the community around you is not usually discouraged.

You said you do have one teacher who is willing to supervise. Great! Make sure that teacher is involved in any discussions you have with the principal and others in leadership positions at your school. This makes sure everyone is on the same page. You coordinating this communication also shows your commitment to the team and a maturity level that they may feel is missing (reading between the lines a little here)

You have mentioned that you feel you are being kept in the dark. There are probably legal reasons that they cannot tell you everything. I would avoid focusing on this too much and try to focus most of your effort on demonstrating that this is an important club to the students at your school.

I am assuming your team has already paid registration for this season. Make sure you mention this to anyone you talk to and mention how much was paid and mention how much the students have raised. This shows your commitment and also shows the monetary investment that was already made. They may work harder to figure out a way for the team to get through the season if they understand how much money has already gone into the season.

Finally, I say all this with a massive asterisk because there is a lot that is unclear, as is always the case with these posts on CD. I get the feeling there is more to the story but it is clear you are passionate about the team and I wish you the best of luck

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Are you willing to share team number or where in Western Canada your team is based?

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This exact problem happened at the school where I mentor this past summer – even though I was lead mentor for the past 5 years (and officially registered/fingerprinted/background checked as a volunteer for the district), new (or newly enforced) rules required a staff member to supervise all hours of every meeting, and no teacher was willing to do this more than ~2 hours per week. My team came incredibly close to shutting down this past fall.
I rallied students, parents, and a ton of alumni to contact the school principal and superintendent explaining how important this program was for the school, and the principal’s phone + inbox was flooded with messages from alumni, convincing him to work out a plan that ultimately led to “hiring” me as a school staff member (“walk on coach”) similar to that of sports team coaches. This enabled me to stay on campus and provide the supervision the students needed to continue to operate our team this year.
Moral of the story – speak up to administrators!! The students stood outside the principals office to confront him with their needs and requests, and it worked out for us.

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