1. And What About Minority Kids? SciMaTech Academy Hull Middle School Benton Harbor, Michigan

2. Population—11,000 Lake Michigan College Whirlpool Corporation

3. Benton Harbor High School Spring 07-The FRC Debut of the Tech Tigers Overcame mechanical difficulties Tremendous help from Whirlpool

4. Hull Middle School 350 students Grades 6 – 8 94% African American, 92% Free/Reduced Lunch 7 years on the state’s critical list

5. Hull Middle School (cont.) 2006-07 launched SciMaTech Academy Two rookie teams One went to Flint (state tournament) in December

6. Difficulties One coach for two teams Too many adult volunteers at the start Coaches training held when school starts Summer robotics camp not implemented

7. Year Two (07-08) Two coaches Two returning students Two sponsors Two tournaments Two awards – Against All Odds – Rising Star

8. Gap—Robot Design Ours—last year Ours— this year Theirs—last year Team chose not to use sensors

9. Gap—Programming Very basic

10. Other Gaps Research Skills Presentation skills Applying the design process – Working independently – Willing to be creative – Not giving up

11. ANY SUGGESTIONS? How do we deal with taking students from “Zero” to tournament ready every year?

12. Thank you for your help! Marian Prince, Counselor marian.prince@bhas.org Mary Wilcox, Technology Teacher mary.wilcox@bhas.org