Virginia Legislative Action: Help Needed

FIRST General Forum
1

Greetings,

On October 22nd, members of two FRC teams from central Virginia will present in front of the Joint Commission of Technology and Science of the Virginia General Assembly. Alison Palmer of Blue Cheese 1086 and Princess Culpepper of Tee Jay Vikings 2998 will present testimony regarding the success FIRST has in preparing students for careers in STEM fields, the current state of the STEM workforce in Virginia including disparity in workforce diversity and how JCOTS and the Virginia General Assembly can help FIRST in bridging the gaps.

Established in 1997, JCOTS is a permanent legislative commission charged to study all aspects of technology and science and to promote the development of technology and science in the Commonwealth of Virginia through sound public policies. The commission is comprised of 7 delegates and 5 senators. http://dls.virginia.gov/commission/jcots_about.htm

The asks that Alison and Princess will be presenting to JCOTS are for a grant fund to help teams in schools located in disadvantaged or underrepresented areas and incentives for teachers to start and coach FIRST teams in their schools.

Blue Cheese would like for you to attend, either as a coach, teacher, parent, student, any interested party your support will be much appreciated. If you do attend or even if you are unable to and one of your Legislators sits on the Commission, afterwards, please follow up with them advocating for support for FIRST and funding to help make the program accessible for all students.

You can find the committee members here:
http://studies.virginiageneralassembly.gov/studies/179
You can find the name of your legislators here:
http://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/

Meeting: 10:00 AM
Oct 22nd 10am House Room B
General Assembly Building
201 North 9th Street
Richmond, VA 23219

2

I won’t be in town for the meeting, but John Watkins is my senator. I’ll definitely contact him saying something to the effect of “thanks for listening, support STEM pls”

3

Thanks! I know it sounds silly, but direct contact from constitutes can make all the difference.

4

Your original post only mentions FIRST. Why will the presentation only ask for funding for FIRST teams and coaches? Doing that would be doing a huge disservice to Virginia’s STEM robotics community.

Right off the bat it’s easy to notice that both FIRST and the RECF have a strong presence in Virginia. I firmly believe that both are strong because both fill important needs.

Additionally, there are other effective STEM programs getting traction in the state.

I believe that any proposal to distribute tax dollars for the STEM education purposes you are addressing, should allow each local recipient (at some level of abstraction) to choose a program that fits their needs. I think that is wise for new programs, and doubly wise for locations that already have established programs.

Playing favorites or creating a skewed perception of what each/all of the programs can contribute to a total STEM education picture would be neither gracious nor professional when tax dollars are being asked to pay for the result.

An exception would be if you introduced the committee to all the significant programs, gave a balanced description of what each offers, and then explicitly told them you wanted to encourage them to support one of the programs because it was a personal favorite (after making them aware of the bigger picture).

I think an unbiased assessment of the both the bigger, and the niche STEM programs available in Virginia, will show that each has a place in the state’s spectrum of end-user needs, abilities, and budgets; and with that in mind I think the subject is too important for us to tackle using only one of the tools in our toolbox.

This has always been my conclusion when I compared the various programs on paper, and when I voted with my volunteer hours.

Can I/we count on the presenters to educate the committee about more than just FIRST programs?

Blake

5

In Virginia, students have access to VEX through TSA which falls under Career and Technical Education. CTE classified programs are state supported and eligible for state funds. TSA has been integrated into the classroom setting in quite a few schools as well. There are policies in place to standardize the local school districts’ support of the program. Currently there is no program making state funds available to FIRST programs. While many Virginia officials verbally support FIRST there is no official state support.
Alison and Princess will have 15 minutes to present on the issues VA is facing in regards to filling STEM jobs, the FIRST program and their personal experiences as well as relay what they would like the GA to do in terms of support.
In an ideal world, 16 year old students would not have to ask their state government to provide the support for programs that have proven track records, all programs would be eligible for funds. Since that is not the case they are advocating for support of a program that has affected their lives but doesn’t have the same funding available as some other programs. The amounts they are requesting are very small in comparison, nowhere near the level of CTE funding. But could help get FTC in many schools and a start for some FRC teams as well.

6

Greetings Blake,
The two students who are presenting have FIRST experience. They will talk about that experience. However, their experience is very similar to other STEM programs. The young ladies have a precious few minutes in front of the committee. They will focus on their personal experiences. They feel the presentation will have a greater impact. I hope this choice of presentation style does not deter your from giving them your support.

7

These students and others participating in this exercise are students in a FIRST program volunteering their time to petition to their government for a program they support. This much was made clear in the original post. Since 1086 and 2998 don’t field any programs under the RECF banner (as far as I’m aware…) it’s probably difficult for them to give testimony on those programs like they can for FIRST. However, it appears their testimony might be able to bridge some gaps.

In addition, I’m not really familiar with VRC (something I am looking to gain familiarity with before the 2015-2016 competition), but I’m under the impression that VRC doesn’t have the same barrier to enter as FRC, or at least not at the same magnitude. Your opinion may be that the barrier to entry for FRC is enough to find VRC a more worthwhile investment of your time, however there are many highly successful FRC/VRC teams that find favors and faults in both.

I’m going to make a wild assumption that legislation is not being drafted, finalized, sent out of committee to the floor, debated, sent back to committee, edited, sent back to the floor, sent to the House and Senate, passed by or amended by the House and Senate, and signed by the governor or otherwise put into law via an override on October 22. I’m sure you could get in contact with 1086 (there are over a half dozen active CD account holders that work on the team) and discuss this with them in a more productive manner than throwing down the gauntlet here, but ¯_(ツ)_/¯

8

Folks - Some replies to my request contain unfounded assumptions.

I’ll supply a little background.

When I lobbied the Vice Presidents of the company I used to work for, I lobbied for support of all large STEM programs, and I described as accurately as I could the pros and cons of each. I included descriptions of the competition events, of the dollars per student, of the educational opportunities offered per student, of the “market” segments where each appeared to be most effective, of the annual rhythms of their programs, etc.

When asked my personal opinion about the ones I enjoyed the most, I gave a multi-faceted answer to that question.

I clearly remember one presentation when I (and my colleagues) had 15 minutes to convince a VP that the corporation should partially fund developing the 5th Gear match simulator for FIRST’s FRC program. That presentation included a bottom-to-top summary of FIRST’s programs (similar to the STEM robotics summary I requested in my earlier post), and their benefits. We were successful, and 5th Gear was subsequently successful.

The students presenting to VA legislature committee can be successful at describing the big picture, and at pointing out that VA should increase the diversity of programs supported through VA CTE, and other taxpayer-funded avenues. Where holes or inconsistencies exist, I agree that they should be plugged/changed to created balanced choices.

That can be done in 15 minutes (I can offer advice on how to accomplish it), and it can be done without playing favorites on any side of the topic. We don’t create balance by implicitly or explicitly suggesting that either/or choices must be made.

9

I’m going to guess that this is what Blake got hung up on, so I don’t know why he’s being rebutted from what appears to be a “we didn’t mean to say that” perspective.

Generally I have to agree that STEM in Virginia is way larger than FIRST, but at the state level that can be hard to see (see the next section). However additional STEM education support is greatly needed, particularly in ‘underrepresented’ areas (presuming % of college attendance here?). Particularly if it starts with very young students, FIRST is a prime example of inexpensive and sustainable STEM education curricular and extra-curricular activities.

wnewton really hit on the crux of the issue in VA - the current high school “track” system in VA leaves very little room for STEM-specific education. This has impacts in everything from funding to opinions on how the cost of STEM education is beneficial to rural communities. It’s something that has been worked on from a curriculum perspective in recent years, but I agree that the lack of funding is … aggravating.

However, if the testimony has a snippet on the scale of impact of FRC upon Blue Cheese & 2998 alumni while alluding to “$100k on STEM per school makes more economical sense than $100k on football per school”, I believe the testimony itself can leave a more lasting impression in the legislators’ memories. This is how 1885 has testified in public hearings before, and for us it has maintained on-going dialogs with politicians at several levels. We’ve never done it from a funding perspective though, since there were other areas to address first.

I can’t make it to that session, but I wish you the best!

10

The assumption that is being made is that advocating for one program is a negative for another program. This is not a zero sum game. I could take the addition of a VEX team in my school as a negative towards my FIRST team. I see it as two groups working with two distinct populations. Both working towards similar goals (now I do have a VERY strong opinion which program has better student outcomes). By advocating for FIRST we are directly advocating for more STEM funding in the state of Virginia. I think we can all agree that this is an outcome we can all get behind.

11

My primary assumption is that the problem is big enough, and that legislatures are forgetful enough, that keeping all the effective programs in front of a committee, and then telling them how important it is to use all of them effectively is the right thing to do. I am not familiar with any STEM robotics (or cyber-whatever, or mathematics, or rocketry, or biology, or … ) program that is a best fit for every part of the state.

Along with that primary assumption, I am assuming that getting a legislature (or committee thereof) to do anything is no simple task. Whatever we ask them to do needs to open as many doors as possible.

These are the reasons I recommend being an advocate for multiple ways to inspire and educate students, in addition to pointing out that at least one valuable and important program could maybe use a boost (to keep it on equal footing with all other collaborations between non-profits and the state education system). The legislature needs to be in the business of nurturing and catalyzing all effective education and inspiration opportunities.

I’ll close by repeating that I’m urging any and everyone, who speaks to a government official, to show them how to open as many doors as possible. I’m saying nothing more, and nothing less.

Blake
PS: OBTW - I’m wearing an iridescent-green FTC shirt at work today. To practice what I preach, I might need to dye one of my white RECF shirts an equally noticeable color-not-found-in-nature and wear it tomorrow. :wink:

12

The equal-time rule is for the broadcast media, not for me.

When I get a rare and fleeting opportunity to present a case for the things I care most about, I avoid watering down my argument. I draw boundaries.

Great job 1086 and 2998! Best of luck!

13

Good for you guys. Good luck!

14

Exactly - And that over-arching message should be opening as many doors as is possible for Virginia students.

15

Folks,

While I might or might not have been tactful enough when I wrote my first reply to the OP in this thread, please believe that I was attempting to make the same point that is contained in this post Dave Lavery wrote in 2009 (see below).

I believe the sentiment he expressed is as true today as it was then, and consequently I wanted to encourage conveying (to the legislative committee) the importance of Virginia using every available STEM program to accomplish just as much as each possibly can.

I’ll personally go a step farther than Dave did, and say that if the programs aren’t actively cooperating in Virginia, then they aren’t “getting it”.

Virginia needs to use all of the arrows in its quiver; and I feel that all of us involved in the various programs today are all responsible for working together to ensure that happens.

Along those lines, I have not been assuming that the teams involved in presenting to the Va committee are trying to compete (on behalf of FIRST) with the other STEM robotics programs in Va. Instead, knowing how easy it is for anyone to develop a bit of tunnel vision, I very much wanted to encourage them to do a great job of being advocates for all STEM robotics programs (with at least a nod to other non-robotics STEM programs, too). Part of doing that great job might be pointing out that FIRST teams, along with all other non-TSA teams, might need different types of support than the TSA participants need.

When you read Dave’s post below, I hope you will understand my motivations.

Here is a link to the thread where Dave’ post was written, 2009 Discussion

And here is the pertinent excerpt (the entire thread is worth reading). Its sentiment was on target in 2009, and its sentiment is still on target today:

…
I have said it before, and I will say it again: If between them FIRST, IFI, BotBall, BEST, and PLTW are collectively dedicating even a single neuron firing to the contemplation of how to beat the “other guys,” then collectively they are all fools.

Let’s look at some reality. TSA will reach 150,000 students this year[1], the FIRST Robotics Competition will reach an estimated 41,000 students[2], Project Lead The Way manages to contact 500,000 students[3], BotBall touches approximately 5,000[4], and the VEX competitions add about 6,000 more[5]. That is a grand total of about 700,000 students involved in these programs today.

As of 2007, there are an estimated 16,400,000 high school students in the U.S.[6]. So collectively, these guys are affecting a grand, whopping, huge 4.2 percent of the U.S. high school student population. That is right – 4.2 percent. Over 95% of the current high school students in the United States are not engaged by any of them.

Given a potential market that is 25 times larger than the entire population currently served by these programs – and remembering that it has taken nearly 20 years for them to grow just to this point – the ONLY focus that anyone should have is how to reach that larger market.

The publicly-stated goal of each of these organizations is to provide inspiration and education on STEM topics to those that have not yet “seen the light.” You don’t do that by trying to convince those already converted that your particular phrasing of the message is better. You do it by reaching out to those that have never heard the message in the first place. A little less time spent on turf wars, and a little more time spent on reaching the 95% of students who are oblivious to your existence, might be wise.

-dave

Thanks for your time,
Blake

16

Ok, but I refuse to wear a silly blue blazer.

17

:smiley:

Obviously, let us know how the results of the presentation/meeting.

18

A piece on our time with the commission.

19

A bill is going through the House now that would support STEM , that’s right Blake, all STEM :] , in under served schools. Please see our website for more information and make a call or send an email to you house delegate and ask for their support.

20

Great job guys!