The LASA Robotics program at LASA High School is in jeopardy.

What's wrong

This year was tough for the LASA Robotics team and community. 

Despite the retirement of Tony Bertucci, the teacher-coach who founded LASA Robotics, the school year started with a promising outlook. A new teacher had been hired, 5 volunteer mentors were committed to continuing to serve the team, and sign-ups for the team had increased 50%. But ...

First came the bad news about the new teacher: not teaching any Advanced Robotics classes (despite enrolled students), not using the workshop for any hands-on instruction, not participating in the team's after-school/weekend meetings. Then, the team and its supporters struggled to get access to the workshop. Then, the loss of 2 veteran mentors (one death, one job-related move), with an associated loss of recurring funds.

The remaining mentors, parents, and supporting Association have rallied to keep the team going this year, but the future outlook is worrisome. The school administration has demonstrated little intent to change the teacher situation. Mentors, parents, and Association Board members are at risk of burn-out, which risks further loss of funding and leadership continuity. Might there be an impact on team sign-ups and general LASA enrollment next year?

What's at stake

The LASA Robotics community brings so much to the table. It is a community of current and former students, mentors, parents, servant-leaders, sponsor-donors, teacher-coaches, and their networks of other schools, teams, organizations, and corporations. This community has been sustaining the team for decades.

• The non-profit LASA Robotics Association raises over $50K each year, which goes towards: team travel costs, tools,  equipment, materials, community programs, and scholarships. These funds are intended to benefit the campus and curriculum as well as the team.
• The team’s volunteer mentors come from the alumni community, the school community, and the Greater Austin area. The mentors have high-level skills and high-value time. Some are further supported by company volunteer hours and matching donations. They need to be treated well and valued, and given the opportunity to pass on knowledge and traditions to new mentors.
• LASA Robotics is part of LASA High School’s identity and reputation. The robotics program (not just the team) has been part of the STEM offerings at LASA since the 1990s. LASA HS features the robotics program on its website, in its promotional literature, and when recruiting new students.  The team is well-known, with a good reputation at state and national levels as well as the local community. The team has partnered with other schools and groups to build new teams, offer LEGO robotics day-camps, and perform demos at public events.

We understand and appreciate the recent and current struggles of public schools in general, and LASA in particular. We know that the school has also struggled with a campus move, the  COVID pandemic, meager funding, a dwindling pool of teachers, and general attacks on public schools. We should be working together to maintain LASA's "nationally recognized, rigorous, innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum."

What we are asking

For the coming school year, we are asking the school/district administration to work with the LASA Robotics community to put the following in place:

1) A new teacher who is:

• certified in Trade and Industrial Education / Career and Technical Education (CTE)
• able to safely use/teach/supervise all tools in the workshop
• willing to get training/certifications within the year if needed
• at least half-time dedicated to a Robotics curriculum
• committed to serving as an official UIL coach for the Robotics team (and all that typically entails)
• The community could help recruit, orient, and/or incentivize an ideal candidate for this position.

2) Restoration of a full Robotics curriculum:

• 3 levels (Robotics I, II, III)
• Advanced levels can be 'stacked' in the same class, as was done for many years.
• The extended LASA Robotics community can help to devise/restore curricula, if needed.
• The key activities of the Robotics classes should be hands-on workshop activities and problem-solving/design challenges--which contribute directly to the ongoing success of the team and provide the most valuable and most rare learning experiences.

3) Additional supports that are typically provided to extra-curricular teams and school-partner programs, such as:

• additional teacher-coaches if the Team grows large enough
• partnerships to bring in additional funding, grants, discounts, etc.
• partnerships to maintain best-practice curricula and courses (including related CTE courses or dual-credit courses)
• bus transportation
• badge and key access for vetted volunteer mentors
• custodial services in the workshop area
• access to storage and classrooms near the workshop
• access to school-owned STEM education equipment such as LEGO Robotics kits and desktop computers