Guest blog: The importance of STEM in rural afterschool programs

Sherry Comer is the director of afterschool services in Camdenton, Missouri, and a former Afterschool Ambassador.  Her school’s FIRST Robotics team went to the FIRST Robotics World Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, this year.

Every day in Camdenton, Missouri, R-III afterschool programs, change is happening.  Students are developing 21^stcentury skills that will carry them into the future to be successful in an ever-changing global economy.

Through FIRSTRobotics, 4^th through 12^th grade students in our rural community have gotten excited and engaged in what is often referred to as “the hardest fun ever!”  Our teachers and technical mentors push them to use science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to go over, under, around and through walls that society says they can’t penetrate.  FIRST is designed to create an atmosphere where students combine the excitement of sports with the rigors of STEM.  Under strict rules and with limited resources and tight time limits, teams of students are challenged to raise funds, design a team "brand," hone teamwork skills, and build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors.  It’s as close to "real-world engineering" as a student can get.

Below, watch the Camdenton 4-H LASER team's winning robot in action! 

Not only are our FIRST students in Camdenton introduced to STEM concepts, they are able to see the connection between what they're learning in the classroom and the real world beyond.  FIRST gives students answers to questions that sometimes stop them from getting started: “Why do I need to learn science, technology, engineering or math?" and "Why do I need to understand this concept?

The Camdenton 4-H LASER (Laker Afterschool Science Engineering & Robotics) team works closely with technical mentors—expert engineers, fabricators, graphic artists, Web designers and computer programmers.  They work with local business leaders who help them understand all aspects of a business and what it is like to work for a company.  The only way the team can succeed is if everyone works together toward one common goal.  If one team member fails to do his or her job it impacts the success of the team as a whole, just like the real world.

The core values of "gracious professionalism^®" and "coopertition^®" interwoven in FIRST are what the coaches and I, as well as the Camdenton R-III school district, value most.  It is part of the ethos of FIRST; a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others and respects individuals and the community.  With gracious professionalism, fierce competition and mutual gain are not separate notions.  Coopertition, or displaying unqualified kindness and respect in the face of fierce competition, is built on the idea that teams can and should help and cooperate with each other, even as they compete.  Both of these values become a way of life that carries over into students' daily lives.

The Challenges of Rural Afterschool Programs

Camdenton is a decidedly rural community, but with a few unique aspects.  The population of the town is 3,200, but we have 4,200 K-12 students on campus between the hours of 8:00 am and 3:00 pm daily, because the school district covers 372 square miles.  There is little industry and no big corporations to support the robotics teams.  FIRST was implemented at Camdenton in 2009 with 21 high school members and three adult mentors.  In the four short years since, the program has grown to include an additional 250 students in grades 4-12 and will expand next year with the addition of the Junior FIRST LEGO League program for students in grades 1-3.  The growth is extraordinary, testimony to what the program means to our students, our school and our community.  In fact, the elementary teams are formed using a lottery system, because demand surpasses the school's resources of space, staffing and financing.  With respect to the latter—money—we face a particular challenge rooted in our rural setting: We have to travel to Kansas City or St. Louis to compete (three hours one-way.)

We're fortunate that the Camdenton R-III School District and community have embraced FIRST.  Camdenton Optimist member and STEM Alliance organizer John Albright says that “FIRST has been life-changing for many of the youth that participate in Camdenton’s afterschool program.  One hundred percent of the graduating seniors have gone on to universities and are majoring in STEM-related fields for the last four years!  What an incredible testament to the community, school, mentors and coaches.  Our students are being accepted at some of the most prestigious colleges in the United States because of their involvement with FIRST robotics.”

The Camdenton 4-H LASER teams have to be creative to operate.  With no large corporate sponsorship, the students and mentors rely heavily on 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC) funding to support their STEM efforts.  The team also wrote successful NASA and Boeing grant proposals to help pay competition fees.  Other sponsorship includes local business such as Sakelaris Ford, which sponsors the team’s largest fundraising effort.  Numerous other businesses provide funding, meals, mentors, materials and support. 

In an effort to repay the community for its incredible support of the afterschool program, the FIRST LASER teams from elementary to high school levels give back with service projects each year.  They've raised money for the Joplin Tornado Relief Fund to help Joplin High School form a robotics class after the 2011 F5 tornado destroyed their schools and community; they've also raised money for breast cancer research and to support a Citizens Against Domestic Violence children’s play room.  FIRST encourages teams to become involved with their community and always to leave the world a better place.

Providing opportunities that our students might not otherwise have in a rural area is what FIRST and our other afterschool programs are all about.  We want our youth to have options and the same opportunities that students from urban and metropolitan areas have in regard to STEM careers and exploration.  I want the fifth-grader who said she wants to be an astronaut to still be saying that when she's a high school senior.