Dallas ISD’s FIRST Robotics League Teams are soaring

Dallas ISD’s FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics League teams have experienced great success this year. FIRST has several levels of competitive robotics and several of the district’s teams have flourished at all levels with advances to regionals, state, and the World Championship.

FLL Explore (K-3) Elementary World Bid

Gilbert Cuellar Sr. Elementary School’s “LEGO Elites,” team #27819, won the Challenge Solution Award at the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Explore World Championship held in Houston last month. The Challenge Solution Award is given to teams with excellent problem-solving skills to create innovative and helpful solutions to this year’s ‘Superpowered’ themed challenge. The LEGO Elites team successfully shared their research findings of discovering new ways to develop, store and use renewable energy. They also designed a “Show Me Poster” displaying their documented journey to solving the challenge, along with a LEGO model build that replicated their research outcome.

Gilbert Cuellar Elementary School’s team was made up of kindergarten through third grade students. These young scholars were superstars on the FLL Explore international world stage and this was the first time a Dallas ISD team participated in the World Championship. 

FRC and FTC World Bid

The Emmett J. Conrad High School FRC “RoboChargers” also had an outstanding season this year. They were crowned the UIL FRC State Robotics Champions in Houston which earned them a bid to the FIRST World Championship. At the World Championship, the RoboChargers faced over 75 teams from countries all over the world. They went into the World Championship and ranked fifth in the world with an overall record of 48-6. The team showed tremendous effort at the championship while finishing second overall in their division.

The School of Science and Engineering at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center’s FTC team “Iron Reign” was also honored to compete at the FIRST World Championship. They faced 192 teams from across the country and the globe. The team received the Motivate Award for inspiring students around the world with their STEM passion and prowess. In their summer project, they turned a real, full-size excavator into a robot and shared that story in videos and presentations. They also taught students how to program robots at numerous events throughout the year. 

Dallas ISD’s FIRST teams have grown tremendously this season with more than 200 teams and many first-time coaches. For the first time, the Computer Science & Technology department was designated as the North Texas host for FLL Explore and held seven festivals. Dallas ISD hosted four Regional Qualifiers, the FLL Challenge NTX Regional Championship, four coaches workshops, two student-led workshops, and a host of scrimmages.

Outstanding District Award

Culminating a year of great success, Dallas ISD achieved the Outstanding District Award which recognizes school districts that support community service, team growth in STEM, and coach leadership development. It highlights the school districts that support a team-building approach to strengthen FIRST philosophies of gracious professionalism and cooperation through discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork, and fun.