Rickards High amped for new robotics program with help from state

April 10, 2024

55 3 minutes read

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Tim Qin, a freshman, and Dylan Ryan-Zil, a sophomore, are two buddies who enjoy robotics studies at Rickards High School as active members on the Science Olympiad team.

And starting this fall, more students at the high school on Tallahassee’s south side will get the chance to consider a robotics career pathway with the introduction of the school’s new robotics program.

“We were into robotics before this,” Tim said.

“Yes, but we never did anything like this before,” Dylan chimed in as both demonstrated a run of the robot they built and coded over a few months.

Tim said he wants to become an aerospace engineer, and Dylan knows he wants to work in a STEM-related field, but is still exploring career options.

Tim Qin and Dylan Ryan-Zil are students at James S. Rickards High School and participate in robotics competitions with the Science Olympiad team.

“I’m definitely interested in it, and I think a lot of people are, so it’s pretty cool,” Dylan said.

Rickards Principal Douglas Cook said he is charged up for the new career and technical program as a robot enthusiast himself.

“As a former robotics teacher … who started programming back in the 90’s, I am excited to see what our young people can do,” Cook said.

The school currently offers several career and technical education (CTE) programs focused on technology, health sciences and welding, and will be getting robotics through a $1.6 million grant from the Florida Department of Education.

“These programs give our kids experiences and exposure to things they otherwise would not have experienced,” Superintendent Rocky Hanna said in the school’s media center this week. “It shows them that there are many different paths to a successful future.”

Rickards, SAIL high schools benefit from tech funding

The robotics program was announced during a news conference at the school. Of the grant money, $1 million will be spent $1 million at Rickards on equipment, course work and other necessities to get things started.

Moreover, $600,000 from the grant will go to SAIL High School, to enhance its current engineering CTE pathway with new virtual and augmented reality equipment.

“This will definitely enhance our engineering program,” said Matt Roberson, principal at SAIL. “We all know technology is always changing, and so, we as public educators need to really look at ways that we can advance our students in those fields and pathways.”

Students who complete SAIL’s engineering pathway will graduate with pre-engineering industry certifications, and for Rickards’ new robotics program, students will graduate with a robotics certification, bridging the gap for students who may not be able to afford college courses or simply want to get ahead in their careers post-graduation.

“All of these skills and the certification are going to get them ahead a year or so by getting that certificate,” said Paula Mitchell, the robotics instructor for the Science Olympiad team at Rickards told the Tallahassee Democrat. “It’s going to save them plenty of time, but I think even more so, it’s going to expose students to this field who may not have even thought about it.”

Mitchell and Seth Reedy coach Rickards’ Science Olympiad. They team up and work with about 70 students on robotics to prepare for competitions across the state.

Mitchell said the club meets after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays for about two hours to practice coding and programming robots, and to study other topics like astronomy and physics.

Both educators said the robotics CTE course will give students who can’t stay after school the chance to engage with the technology during class time.

“With this grant we will be able to introduce more people to robotics, and for students, it will help them improve their programming skills during a set class time,” said Reedy, who will be teaching the course next year.

“Some of them can’t stay after school to join the clubs and practice, but if they’re able to do it in class and compete on the weekends, that’s going to really open some doors for them.”