Dallas ISD students continue to thrive in STEM as Competitive Robotics teams earn their spot in national and international tournaments.
This year alone, one high school, 11 middle schools, and seven elementary schools will compete in the VEX Robotics World Championship, which will take place on May 3rd.
At the IQ Robotics Create U.S. Open, 1251G LadyBots from Casa View Elementary brought home the top award, the Excellence Award, and won the 2nd Place Teamwork Challenge Award. The 20616D Robolution D from Alex Sanger Preparatory won the Design Award. And the 3028G LadyBots from School for the Talented and Gifted in Pleasant Grove won the Sportsmanship Award.
Two Dallas ISD elementary teams and one middle school team recently shone on the national stage at the 2022 CREATE U.S. Open Robotics Championship, the VEX Robotics national competition which took place earlier this month.
Equity-filled success, districtwide
Competitive Robotics started growing quickly in the 2014-15 school year as Dallas ISD educators began recognizing the program as a fun and engaging way to integrate STEM content areas. Today, Dallas ISD is the home of 345 teams – 203 in elementary, 81 in middle school and 61 in high school – which compete in nine robotics leagues.
Most Dallas ISD schools offer this program as an after-school club, where students from all ages and backgrounds put into practice the lessons that they learn in the classroom. From coding and designing, to writing, public speaking and problem-solving, students involved in Competitive Robotics engage with all the curriculum.
Computer Science & Technology, a branch of the Dallas ISD STEM Department, is currently managing the district’s robotic efforts. They assist schools by providing support for team registration and setup, offering professional development for robotics coaches, and supplying robotics equipment and game elements. The department also hosts over 25 robotics events on Dallas ISD campuses, and provides busing to teams for local travel, as well as transportation, hotels, food expenses and stipends to teams traveling to state and world robotics competitions.
“I consider it a privilege to play a small part in helping our students explore their passion for STEM,” said Jeff Marx, Computer Science & Technology director. “My favorite part is going to the tournaments and seeing the students’ excitement as they compete. This program’s success in Dallas ISD is the result of a collaboration between the department, the schools, the students and their parents. I am proud to be a part of it.”
