Hype founder awards Dearborn schools $90,000 for robotics and $250,000 for elementary athletics

Ali Saeed, founder and CEO of Hype, presented two donations totaling $340,000 to the Dearborn City School District at the Feb. 10 board meeting, the district said.

The larger check, $250,000, is designated to establish elementary athletics programs that will include boys and girls basketball, soccer in spring and a fall cross-country program, Saeed said. A separate $90,000 gift will fund elementary robotics teams at participating schools.

The donations are intended to expand organized sports and robotics access for elementary students, with an emphasis on increasing participation from East Dearborn ZIP codes that Saeed said have been underrepresented in prior Hype programs. "We're able to launch a really cool, elementary athletics program," Saeed told the board, and said the robotics funds will support teams at multiple elementary schools.

Board members pressed for participation and staffing details. Trustee Petlichkoff asked how many students are expected to take part; Saeed replied that boys basketball is capped at about 700 participants, girls basketball at about 500, soccer funding covers about 700 students and cross country aims for broad participation — a potential combined total of roughly 2,500 youth across the sports programs. Saeed said the robotics funds are additive to district robotics funding and that about 15 schools could field an additional team with the new grant.

District organizers laid out how the athletics program will be staffed and organized. Saeed said the district committed to hiring one paid faculty liaison per school to serve as the point person for each team; parent volunteers and community coaches will be encouraged to serve as coaches. Saeed said some schools hired coaching staff where needed. The liaison role is paid, while coaching is primarily volunteer-based, he said.

Officials also described a district competition structure divided into four divisions; Saeed listed the district divisions and the schools in each during the presentation, and said 19 elementary schools participated in the program this year. The program plans include local meets and culminate with a cross-country event tied to the Cipriano race, Saeed said. "We have an awesome district," Saeed said. "Everything becomes great when we join together."

Trustees thanked Saeed and his colleagues for the gifts and asked that the game and event schedule be shared with the board. Saeed said the district and Hype are committed to continuing the athletics program whether the grant renews, and that organizers will seek cost efficiencies to sustain the program in future years.

The donations were presented during the superintendent's non-agenda updates and were acknowledged by the board; no formal vote on accepting the gifts was recorded in the public transcript of the meeting.

The district stated the funds will support elementary robotics programs and create scheduled athletics opportunities for boys and girls at elementary schools across the district, with staffing and program structure intended to connect teams with custodial and maintenance staff and parents through a paid liaison at each school.