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Saddle Mountain robotics program marks one of its best seasons; board hears plan to expand middle‑school offerings
Summary
Coach Mr. Wisser told the board that all three elementary VEX IQ teams qualified for state finals, multiple awards were earned, and the district plans to restructure robotics into a fifth‑through‑eighth‑grade middle‑school program and add middle‑school VEX IQ teams next year subject to staffing and transportation capacity.
Coach Mr. Wisser told the Saddle Mountain board that this was one of the district’s most successful robotics seasons in 12 years: all three elementary VEX IQ teams advanced to state finals, middle‑school teams earned multiple awards and two teams qualified for the US Open national tournament.
"For the first time ever, all three schools made it to the state finals," Mr. Wisser said, noting awards such as the Create Award and a teamwork runner‑up award. He credited coaches, parent volunteers and sponsors including WiFiber/Triad Wireless, Grace Design Studios and Core Construction for supporting travel and program costs.
Students who joined the presentation described their experiences. "Hi, my name is Daniel. I won the teamwork champion award," a fourth‑grade student said, explaining the team’s strategy work and that learning to code in Python was his favorite part. Another student, Jace, described earning a judged Create Award for notebook quality and design that helped the team earn an invitation to nationals.
Program changes: Mr. Wisser outlined a proposed restructuring that would make the middle‑school program grades 5–8 and add middle‑school VEX IQ teams; he said the move is intended to keep more students engaged while controlling costs. He warned that middle‑school VEX is more expensive to run and that transportation and coaching capacity will determine how many teams can be added. The coach said he hopes to expand with grant support and volunteer coaches so that the district does not assume large recurring costs.
Why it matters: the program provides hands‑on STEM experience, coding exposure and long‑term pathways to postsecondary engineering programs for students. Trustees applauded the students and asked staff to consider logistics and potential stipend impacts if the program scales up.
Next steps: the coach will return with additional detail about team counts, proposed schedules and budget implications if the board directs expansion.
