Second year grant will offer thousands of Texas students access to robotics
GREENVILLE, Texas, Sept. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation announced today that it is partnering with the Texas Workforce Commission’s Texas Youth Robotics Initiative to expand access of competitive robotics to rural and Title 1 high school students for the 2021/2022 academic year throughout the state. The grant will also support nearly 220 existing competitive robotics education teams.
With a nearly $700K grant from the Texas Workforce Commission, the REC Foundation will develop 125 new teams for educational robotics competition. Of those 125 teams, 25 are dedicated to teams composed of intellectually disabled and/or deaf and hard of hearing students through partnerships with Special Olympics Texas and the Texas School for the Deaf, respectively. Furthermore, both organizations are partnering with the REC Foundation to host events dedicated to Special Olympics and deaf and hard of hearing teams from across the nation. The primary goal for the remaining new team grants is to, in partnership with the Texas Rural Education Association (TREA), begin robotics programs across rural Texas high schools.
The REC Foundation works in close partnership with VEX Robotics, creator of the robotics kits and educational tools used by students, educators and mentors. Teams will engage in fun and hands-on learning while having the opportunity to potentially compete in a regional VEX Robotics Competition.
“We’re honored to receive this impactful grant and for our partnership with the Texas Workforce Commission. These funds will help expand and continue the much-needed access to robotics and create more workforce development opportunities for Texas students,” said Dan Mantz, CEO of the REC Foundation. “We’re thrilled to welcome more teams to our global robotics community of more than one million students.”
Through the creative process of designing, building, and programming robots for competition, students gain a wealth of technical knowledge and develop communication and teamwork skills that will serve them well throughout their lives. To learn more about the REC Foundation and how your high school can apply for this grant, visit our TWC Grant page.
About the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation
The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation‘s mission is to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, affordable and sustainable robotics engineering programs.
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