Regional outreach: two new schools onboarded

The outreach committee has completed onboarding for two schools that previously had no robotics program of their own. Both are being paired with an established nearby team for their first season, following a mentorship model the organization piloted last year with encouraging results: new teams that received hands-on support from an experienced neighbor were substantially more likely to field a working robot by their first competition than those that started without a partner team.

Each new school received a starter parts kit funded through the organization’s general operating budget, along with a rotating schedule of visits from the partner team’s student mentors through the remainder of the season. Committee volunteers also ran a half-day orientation session at each school covering basic safety practices and an overview of the season’s game, aimed at teachers and parent volunteers who will be supervising the new teams’ regular meetings.

Early feedback from both schools has been positive, though it is too soon to assess retention, which has historically been the harder problem; several past outreach efforts produced enthusiastic first seasons that did not carry into a second year once initial funding and mentor attention moved elsewhere. The committee is tracking both schools through the summer to see whether continued light-touch support improves on that pattern.

A third school has expressed interest for the coming fall, and the committee is evaluating whether a suitable partner team with capacity is available nearby before committing to onboarding. Updates on retention for this spring’s two schools will follow once the season concludes.