Green Valley Elementary students place second nationally in drone competition; school expands STEM offerings

Green Valley Elementary students on Feb. 25 were recognized by the Roanoke County School Board after placing second nationally in the Robot Drone League national junior division at East Tennessee State.

Sheree Anderson, who presented the group to the board, said the team entered the competition with low expectations and returned with a second-place finish. “These kids went down there and did their thing and ended up coming in second place nationally,” Anderson said.

Anderson credited the school’s instructional foundation and after-school work for the result, thanking classroom teachers and the staff who stayed after school to coach. She identified the school’s program as the Cardinal STEM Academy and said students practiced in a dedicated STEM lab all year. The presentation named coaches and students on multiple teams: a second-place competitive team (coached by Brad Schwartz), a rookie-award team and an autonomous-flight award team that programmed drones to fly pre-coded routes.

Meg Swecker, identified in the presentation as the school’s instructional technology resource teacher, had prior judging experience and helped shape the team’s preparation. Anderson also said the school plans a new drone-soccer club that will begin with upper elementary students and hopes to expand to fourth graders.

Board members praised the students and the teachers who ran the after-school program. The board’s remarks emphasized the role of teachers and volunteers in giving students hands-on STEM experience and encouraged continued support for travel and competition costs.

The board presentation included a request to consider modest board funding to support teacher development and conference attendance for the program; the board did not take a formal vote on funding at the meeting.