FIRST ® Advocacy Don Bossi February 2019

Advocacy Overview Our Goal: Make government funds available to schools to enable and support participation in FIRST programs, with an emphasis on engaging under-represented or under-served populations in STEM. State Funding (50%) Local Funding (41%) Federal Funding (9%) *Source: U.S. Dept. of Education * Impact as measured by multiple Brandeis University studies

U.S. Federal Advocacy Federal Programs: Resources and Methods Title IV, Part A: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Title IV, Part B: 21st Century Community Learning Centers AmeriCorps VISTA Program Perkins Act / Career and Tech Education (CTE) Resources and Methods Part-time DC-based Lobbyist (Jim Burger) Director of External Engagement (Kerri Maxwell) National Advocacy Conference GrassRoots Network of Advocates

But… Most funding decisions made at state and local levels HQ resources are developing replicable models, tools, and templates to support state and local advocacy efforts.

State-Level Examples A growing number of state governments provide support to schools for FIRST teams: Michigan: $2.5m (avg.) per year for past 4 years Texas Workforce Commission: $1m per year for 8 years Iowa Scale-Up Grants: Average of ~$275k per year for 5 years Washington: Grew from $150k/yr in 2011 to $825k/yr in 2018; currently applying for additional $3M Oregon: $500K over 2 years, currently applying for additional funding Florida: $200k, new funding in 2016; increased to $500k in 2017 Wisconsin: $250k, new grant signed at 2016 FRC Regional event New Hampshire: $375k toward FIRST in every school Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed Assembly Bill 665 into law at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2016 FIRST Robotics Wisconsin Regional Competition

FIRST® – 2017-18 Season Recap Teams & Participants by U. S FIRST® – 2017-18 Season Recap Teams & Participants by U.S. State / Territory FIRST 2017-2018 Season % State # FLL Jr Teams # FLL Teams # FTC Teams # FRC Teams Total # of Teams Across All 4 FIRST Programs Estimated Total # of Youth Participants FIRST Participants as % of Total Youth Population (ages 6 - 18) Alaska 65 194 50 1 310 2,467 1.88% Alabama 38 95 12 14 159 1,458 0.18% Arkansas 34 71 20 25 150 1,597 0.31% Arizona 69 349 60 543 5,356 0.45% California 667 1753 405 314 3139 29,926 Colorado 157 336 67 36 596 5,200 0.56% Connecticut 203 40 51 444 4,199 0.72% DC 9 8 11 53 609 0.78% Delaware 68 79 16 3 166 1,275 0.85% Florida 569 725 172 80 1546 12,934 0.43% Georgia 201 749 118 82 1150 10,428 Guam 17 21 2 320  0.55% Hawaii 76 124 29 254 2,363 1.11% Iowa 228 412 210 28 878 7,464 1.40% Idaho 57 177 33 15 282 2,463 0.77% Illinois 267 630 181 1135 9,877 0.46% Indiana 121 324 75 49 5,293 Kansas 39 106 24 1,932 0.37% Kentucky 70 305 2,515 0.34% Louisiana 83 31 37 301 2,933 Massachusett 133 465 87 78 763 7,338 0.70% Maryland 235 398 117 790 6,764 0.69% Maine 56 89 26 173 1,718 0.89% Michigan 616 527 436 508 2087 24,972 1.53% Minnesota 257 641 193 215 1306 13,975 1.49% Missouri 317 488 187 73 1065 9,501 0.94% Mississippi 84 176 1,657 Montana 90 139 1,176 0.71% FIRST 2017-2018 Season % State # FLL Jr Teams # FLL Teams # FTC Teams # FRC Teams Total # of Teams Across All 4 FIRST Programs Estimated Total # of Youth Participants FIRST Participants as % of Total Youth Population (ages 6 - 18) North Carolina 248 571 100 66 985 8,706 0.51% North Dakota 16 98 11 4 129 1,090 0.90% Nebraska 29 114 22 3 168 1,381 0.41% New Hampshire 713 176 33 43 965 7,091 3.53% New Jersey 213 414 185 81 893 8,465 0.58% New Mexico 88 103 8 221 1,772 0.49% Nevada 64 101 24 15 204 1,807 0.37% New York 494 841 262 172 1769 16,612 0.55% Ohio 373 557 104 1098 9,334 0.48% Oklahoma 140 199 72 48 459 4,352 0.63% Oregon 135 432 51 822 7,581 1.19% Pennsylvania 260 461 136 67 924 8,283 0.42% Puerto Rico 1   35 295 0.05% Rhode Island 69 44 6 1,238 0.78% South Carolina 186 333 37 45 601 5,275 0.65% South Dakota 31 59 95 723 Tennessee 76 255 25 34 390 3,596 0.33% Texas 560 1533 670 163 2926 26,399 0.50% Utah 294 53 443 3,914 0.59% Virginia 242 569 167 75 1053 9,549 0.70% Vermont 21 19 17 5 62 573 Washington 229 628 173 102 1132 10,678 0.91% Wisconsin 383 50 61 657 6,067 West Virginia 118 120 13 254 1,873 0.68% Wyoming 46 146 1,192 APO 125 27 200 1,558 TOTAL 9,222 18,074 5,159 3,024 35,479 327,114 0.61%

Mobilizing State and Local Advocacy Encourage Governors, Legislative leaders, Commissioners of Education, and School Superintendents to attend events and become advocates within their schools Encourage corporations and businesses to advocate on behalf of FIRST and STEM funding Encourage FIRST teams to lobby their state members of congress and governors Encourage teams to attend local school board and PTA/O meetings Seek to have Robotics recognized as a 21st-century sport and provide similar recognition and benefits as provided to other sports or activities

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