Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

Partnering with your School District:

Utilizing school district resources to create a

sustainable model for growing FIRST in your

community

Bionic Black Hawks FRC 2834

Bloomfield Hills Schools

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

Presented by:

Sarah Piper

• Parent Volunteer

Mentor, FRC 2834

• Bionic Black Hawks

• K-8 District Coordinator

• Prior FLL, FTC Coach

Dr. Heidi Kattula

• Executive Director,

• District & School Services,

Oakland Schools

• FLL Jr. coach

• Bloomfield Hills Schools

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

Student Voice

Charlie• 7 yrs FIRST Experience:

FLL, FTC, FRC

• Embedded FTC Mentor

• Reviewer at the FLL Jr

Event

Maya• FTC & FRC Experience

• Embedded FLL student

mentor

• Referee at the FLL State

Championship

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

Bloomfield Schools

K-12 Robotics

Team 2834 Facts:

• 9th season

• Completely Parent Mentored (No teachers)

• Started with 8 students→ 38 students

• Michigan State Chairman’s Winners, 2016 &

2017, MSC Champions 2017

• Motto: Learn, Serve, Grow

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

Bloomfield Hills Schools:

• Enrollment: 5500 students, 6% of students are

involved in Robotics

• 4 Elementary Schools: 350-500 students

• 3 Middle Schools: 400-700 students

• 1 High School: 1680 students

• FIRST team in every school

Bloomfield Schools

K-12 Robotics

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

Partnering with Your School District :

Growing FIRST in your Community

1. It’s a partnership!

2. Marketing FIRST

3. Registration, Kits, Team Formation

4. Finances

5. Coach Training / Mentoring

6. Facilities

7. Events

8. Benefits of Partnership: What’s in it for the school district?

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

The Challenge

Expand FIRST to younger students

Help grow the number of Michigan FIRST teams

Help our mentored FIRST teams reach sustainability

Simplify the process.

Help Mentors get trained

and manage their teams.

Foster equity and

access to FIRST teams.

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

FRC 2834 School Partnership

GOAL: Provide FIRST Experience for ALL students in our community.

+ FRC 2834

The Bionic Black Hawks =Sustainability &

Opportunity

● Marketing

● Systems

● Space

● FIRST Knowledge

● Students who want to:

Learn * Serve * Grow

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

Progression of

FIRST Programs

FIRST in Michigan

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

It’s a partnership!

School District

• Committed school

administrator

• Authority

• Centralized

FIRST Mentor & Students

• Understand FIRST

programs

• Experience

• Oversight of all teams

Until you have both roles filled, the process won’t work!

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

Student and

Mentor Recruitment

• District Communication Tools in place

• District Overview Night - Spring

• Experienced Mentors help New Mentors

• Teams at all levels demonstrate to spread FIRST

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

Registration

Use the soccer model.

Benefits:

• Secure Access,

Payment Info,

• Spreadsheet, Contact

Info, Time Saver,

Eliminates Paper

• Sustainable

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

Registration-Finances

• School bank accounts hold money

• Purchasing card: buying kits, registering teams

• Tax Exempt status

• Built in reporting, checks / balances

• Sustainable, don’t have to change when mentors

change

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

Paint by Number!

Supporting Rookie Coaches

District Coordinator Role - Step by step:

• Teams formed centrally

• Teams created and registered on FIRST

• Facilitate FIRST Youth Protection Program

(background checks)

• Kits are managed / ordered centrally

• Coach training night

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834 Team Meeting Space

District Supported FREE Space:● FLL Jr & FLL teams meet in elementary schools

● One FTC field for District: shared space

● FTC teams conduct combined practices to assist with

mentor training

● Lesson-Modeling (i.e. programming

lesson)

● FTC space shared with FRC space

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

All Girls’ STEM Camp

FLL/FTC Camps

FRC students train

students and mentors

● FRC students develop, promote and launch

FTC, FLL and FLL Jr. programs

● FLL and FTC mentors are encouraged to drop

by and receiving training by FRC students

Mentor Training

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834 FRC Team Mentoring

• FREE Saturday

morning Drop Ins

hosted by expert

FRC students

• Embedded FRC

students for rookie

teams

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834

FLL State ChampionshipFLL Jr. Expo

FRC Leadership: Shared Benefit

FRC Girls’ Tournament

● Provide opportunities for leadership, outreach, and support

while nurturing and developing programs

● Excellence in celebration events: Learn, Serve, Grow

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834 Benefit to the School

• Marketing at its Finest!

• Authentic application for our kids with applied

math

• Rigor and Relevance

• Influence on core curriculum & electives: AP

Comp Sci, Intro to CS, Robotics & Engineering

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834 Sustainability & Equity

Benefits of what we developed:

• No more word of mouth

• Access, Equity, Diversity

• Systems based

• Promotes success for students & teams

• Safety & security: using District space

• District recognized clubs: bldg admin involved

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834 Moving forward...

• District Personnel: find someone with passion in

this area or a STEM curriculum director

• If not at the District level, who do you have

within your school level who might be interested

in supporting this work.

• FRC - designate a person on your team to

focus on K-8.

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834 Questions?

Sarah Piper

bhillsrobotics@gmail.com

@tweetspiper

Team2834.com

Heidi Kattula

heidi.kattula@oakland.k12.mi.us

@heidikattula

Bionic Black HawksFRC 2834