The Jackson-Madison County School System’s effort to increase STEM activity at the middle school level received a significant boost this month as Northeast Middle School and West Bemis Middle School have been approved for Google Buddy VEX IQ Grants to develop Robotics Education & Competition (REC) teams this school year.
“The development of robotics teams at these two middle schools will serve as a gateway to increased understanding of engineering, design, and research for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in our district. The ceiling on this project is high because of the many different areas of impact it involves,” said JMCSS career and technical education director Dr. Nathan Lewis.
Northeast and West Bemis will receive competition kits, curriculum, and organizational assistance from Google and the REC Foundation. Additionally, a JMCSS teacher on each campus will serve as a team coach while students will perform a number of different roles on the robotics teams; such as Robot Designers, Robot Programmers, Robot Builders, and Robot Drivers.
“While the academic and social benefits of these activities are virtually limitless, the soft skills involved in the process will mirror those of traditional team sports. This serves as another avenue for students to experience teamwork, team spirit, and accomplishments regardless of their athletic or academic abilities,” said deputy superintendent Dr. Vivian Williams.
The Google Buddy VEX IQ Grants are developed to inspire and motivate students to excel in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). District leaders anticipate program growth to spread to the secondary level naturally.
“It’s our expectation that today’s middle school robotics teams, which are being developed this semester thanks to the Google and REC Foundation grant, will transition into teams at the high school level. We expect video game and technology-minded middle schoolers will develop into STEM stars at several of our high schools as a result,” Dr. Lewis said.
Students at West Bemis Middle School
Mr. John Haley, an 8th Grade Science teacher at West Bemis, will serve as their robotics coach
Katrina Young (pictured in turtle neck) is a STEM teacher at Northeast who will serve as the NMS robotics coach. She will be assisted by…
Heather Palmer. Palmer teachers 8th Grade Science at Northeast.
Mr. Haley in class at West Bemis