Carlsbad Unified School District’s Robotics Program Reaches New Heights In The 2020 Competition Season

From the Carlsbad Unified School District:

March 11, 2020

Students in the Carlsbad Unified School District’s (CUSD) district-wide robotics programs are achieving top ranks in 2020 competitions, catapulting the CUSD onto a world stage for robotics and spotlighting Carlsbad’s commitment to STEAM education.

The highlight among many achievements in the robotics program was when the Aviara Oaks Middle School Supersonic Falcons team was named the Overall SoCal Champions at the FIRST® LEGO League (FLL) Southern California Regional competition on December 8, at LEGOLAND® California. The team competed against 50 other teams from Southern California and were judged in the categories of robot game, robot design, innovation project, and core values.

“I have seen these kids grow up since they were in 6th grade,” said volunteer coach Shalu Mittal. “They were determined to go to Worlds this year, and truly came together as a team by working hard, communicating well, managing their time, and putting team goals before personal goals.”

Carlsbad FLL teams also had success at the FLL Cup Tournament at LEGOLAND® California in February. The district’s presence made up one-quarter of the 98 teams participating (26 CUSD competed in total). Nine of the 25 trophies awarded that weekend went to Carlsbad teams.

Additionally, the Valley Girls 2.0 at Valley Middle School are invited to attend The Carolinas Open Invitational in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, from May 7-9, and the Valley Nerd Herd team is invited to attend The Asia Pacific Open Championship in Australia, July 3-5.

With a foundation built on these values, FLL robotics students often advance into the district’s high school FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC) program. For many, a dedication to the CUSD robotics program means a dedication to a future in STEAM.

“Robotics is a growing industry,” says Carlsbad High School sophomore Josie Domo, who started robotics in 6th grade and is now Head of Hardware for the CHS all-girls team, the RoboPuffs. “Being one of the front-runners of this originating team within Carlsbad is really important, and empowering young girls to see what they can do with their futures is really cool.”

Carlsbad’s high school robotics teams are not excluded from a season of success. Two FTC teams from Sage Creek High School (SCHS), Crow Force and Level Up, competed in the San Diego FTC Regional Championship in early March. Level Up, for the fourth time, won the Think Award, a coveted achievement that honors the best engineering design and content. One SCHS student, Holly Guo, was selected as the FTC Dean’s List Award and will advance to the World Championship.

The district-wide robotics program is the result of a dedicated partnership between CUSD and the Carlsbad Educational Foundation (CEF). The Foundation, for the second year in a row, fully-funded the beginning robotics program, FIRST® LEGO League Jr., to every 2nd-grade student in CUSD’s nine elementary schools. This is a minimum $50,000 investment and a visible commitment to providing every Carlsbad student the opportunity to experience robotics.

CEF invests a total of $150,000 to the CUSD robotics programs. Students from every Carlsbad elementary, middle, and high school have the opportunity to participate. The district-wide program represents 7 FTC teams at the high school level, and more than 30 FLL teams between 4-8th grade students.

The CEF and CUSD partnership is also made possible with help from generous community sponsors, including Nordson, Beckman Coulter, Leidos, Viasat, and iMaps. In addition to critical financial resources, volunteers from these community partners dedicate hundreds of hours to serve as mentors to robotics students. These partnerships with industry professionals connect students to real-world applications and provide a tangible career path for a future in STEAM.

For additional support of our Carlsbad Unified School District Support robotics teams, visit carlsbaded.org/donate to make your donation.

About the Carlsbad Educational Foundation

The Carlsbad Educational Foundation (CEF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that was founded in 1983, to raise private support for public education and contribute to the enrichment of nearly 11,000 students in the Carlsbad Unified School District. Since its inception, the foundation has contributed more than $9 million in funds to Carlsbad public schools, primarily for science, technology, and music – programs that would not be possible in California’s current school funding environment. 100% of donations go directly to support the Carlsbad Unified School District because CEF’s operating expenses are covered by student enrichment programs and Kids Care, a comprehensive before and after-school K-5 childcare program. For more information, visit www.carlsbaded.org.

This press release was produced by the Carlsbad Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.