CORDOVA — The Blue Devil Robotics program in Cordova was honored for its accomplishments recently — this amid the announcement that a robotics facility will be built on the Bankhead Middle School campus.
Walker County Schools Superintendent Dr. Dennis Willingham spoke during May’s Walker County Board of Education meeting about students from Cordova High School who traveled to Dallas, Texas, in April to participate in the VEX Robotics World Championship. Cordova High was one of only 13 high school teams in Alabama to advance to the VEX World Championship where they competed against 820 teams from more than 40 countries.
Willingham traveled to Texas to support Cordova’s team. He said it was a memorable event with around 3,000 competitors worldwide. He proudly displayed a VEX Robotics lanyard and medal he brought home from the trip.
“They’ve competed against countries from all over the globe,” he said. ” … It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I’m still excited about it.”
VEX robotics, according to the company’s website, “is educational robotics for everyone. VEX solutions span all levels of both formal and informal education with accessible, scalable, and affordable solutions. Beyond science and engineering principles, VEX encourages creativity, teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving among groups. It allows educators of all types to engage and inspire the STEM problem solvers of tomorrow.”
Cordova High seniors (who recently graduated) attended the school board meeting to be recognized for competing: AJ Freeman, Kaleb Howell and Cade Frost. They have been involved in Blue Devil Robotics for many years, starting at Bankhead.
This past school year, Blue Devil Robotics earned the Design Award at a Bevill State tournament, placed second in a tournament in Hartselle, and won the State Innovate Award.
Blue Devil Robotics Sponsor Amber Parsons and Bankhead Middle Principal Amber Freeman were on hand for the recognitions. Parsons said Blue Devil Robotics started at Bankhead Middle 12 years ago and students in that program continued their involvement as they went on to Cordova High.
Parsons commended the robotics students at the meeting for their willingness to participate which has helped Blue Devil Robotics become a model robotics program in the county and across the state.
“These gentlemen, just before COVID hit, made a switch to VEX robotics and they have paved the way for all of the robotics teams,” Parsons said. “They figured it out on their own because I don’t know how to build robots. They have paved the way and figured it out and mentored seven total teams that have made it to Worlds.”
She added, “I hope that the children coming understand the gravity of what they have done before them.”
Just last week, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s office announced that the Walker County Board of Education has received a $1 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to construct a STEM facility at Bankhead Middle School. The school system was chosen for the grant, in part, due to the success of the robotics program in Cordova.
The press release shared, “The $1 million ARC grant along with $1 million in local resources will enable the Board of Education to construct the 2,500-square foot STEM building on the Bankhead Middle School campus. Additionally, plans call for a 2,275-square-foot area within the existing school to be repurposed as part of the STEM facility.
“The success of a robotics program at Bankhead Middle School was a major factor leading to the expansion of the STEM program. Local leaders say that the robotics program has been instrumental in teaching students about coding, technical design and fabrication, and the robotics teams have won several competitions and become popular with students.”
Rep. Matt Woods, R-Jasper, congratulated Bankhead Middle School for earning the grant.
“STEM programs create avenues for students to learn high-tech skills that will lead to high-demand jobs,” Woods said in a post on Facebook. “I was happy to support this grant and appreciate the efforts of the Bankhead Middle School administration, Walker County School System, and ADECA in securing these resources.”
