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Sumner County students, coaches showcase VEX robotics success at board meeting
Summary
Coaches and students from Portland-area schools told the Sumner County Board of Education about strong regional results and growth in VEX robotics, asked for district support to cover kit and registration costs, and demonstrated robots they took to state and world competitions.
Coaches and students from Portland East and other Sumner County schools told the Sumner County Board of Education on the evening of the June 2023 meeting about recent successes in VEX robotics and urged district support for the program.
Dale Sadler, a school counselor and robotics coach at Portland East Middle School, described VEX IQ as a program where students "design, build, code, and practice" robots for state and international competition and said Sumner County sent a third of Tennessee’s teams to this year’s VEX Worlds. "It's truly, truly amazing," Sadler said, describing alliances with teams from other states and countries.
Jeffrey Wilkins, a Sumner County coach who provided a program budget breakdown, said a VEX IQ kit costs about $650 per team and that registration fees for tournaments range from about $55 to $70. "We support athletics, and we see results," Wilkins told the board, asking members to consider stipends for coaches and district funding for equipment so teams spend less time fundraising.
Board members asked how teams are judged and whether the middle-school experience feeds into high school and postsecondary opportunities. Wilkins and Sadler explained judging includes an engineering notebook and a judges interview, and they noted that the program’s season runs from May through March with multiple tournaments. The presentation listed participation figures the coaches said were current for the program: roughly 21,000 VEX teams worldwide, about 5,000 in their division, and substantial local participation across Sumner County middle and high schools.
The board thanked the coaches and students for the demonstration; board members and audience members applauded the teams for their regional achievements and the program’s role in STEM education. Coaches said several local corporate sponsors support individual teams, and they highlighted a forthcoming Event Partner Summit on July 28 at Hendersonville High School and the county-hosted state championship on March 9 (state championship host date noted during the presentation).
