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Featured case studies provide an in-depth look at the impact of the FIRST® experience, from the transformative effect on students, schools, and communities to the development and inspiration of the next generation of innovators and leaders, and more.
Impact Case Studies
FIRST, Cisco Systems Bring Innovative Learning to 12 Arizona Schools
Cisco Systems helped create 20 new FIRST LEGO League teams for more than 120 students in grades 4-8 – enabling them to create innovative solutions to challenges facing todays scientists while developing career and life skills, and becoming more involved in their community.
Collateral Code: FI007
Qualcomm, FIRST Partner to Foster Future Innovators
As a FIRST Strategic Partner, Qualcomm is laying the groundwork for the next generation of innovators by supporting K-12 STEM education and inspiring greater diversity in the STEM workforce.
Collateral Code: FI009
Filling the STEM Gap in Michigan
FIRST in Michigan runs one of the oldest and largest robotics organizations in the United States, building on a historic collaboration between FIRST, the State of Michigan, the auto industry, the Michigan school systems, and the students and volunteers who make it thrive.
Collateral Code: FI041
Innovation Case Study
Entrepreneur Discovers You’re Never Too Young to Make a Difference
At an age when most young people are just beginning to explore their own identity, FIRST Alum TJ Evarts invented the SMARTwheel, a product designed to alleviate one of the nation’s leading traffic problems: teens who text and drive.
Collateral Code: FI004
Transformation Case Studies
Teacher inspires a culture change through high school robotics and crowdfunding
Monique Dituri, a STEM teacher and robotics team mentor at Clifton High School in New Jersey, has galvanized her school to raise over $775,000 through crowdfunding on DonorsChoose.org. Through her dedication to her students and getting them resources they need to realize their full potential, Dituri is leading a culture change in her community to one where STEM is as celebrated as athletics and more young people have access to life-changing STEM programs like FIRST.
A New Type of School Teaches Skills for the Future
Ypsilanti STEMM Middle College, an innovative, dual-enrollment high school created in 2014 based on FIRST ethos, together with Grizzly Robotics, its robust after-school FIRST program, is enabling students to succeed and seeing dramatic improvements to attendance, graduation, and suspension rates, as well as state test scores.
Collateral Code: FI042
Bringing Engineering Opportunities to Title I Schools
Lawrence High School, part of a largely Hispanic, Title I urban school district in Massachusetts, aims to provide students with high-quality enrichment opportunities comparable to those available to their suburban peers. With opportunities for hands-on STEM engagement, FIRST fits that bill.
Collateral Code: FI039
FIRST Experience Turns Challenges to Opportunities for LA Teen
A homeless teen from an impoverished LA neighborhood turned to FIRST for more than his educational needs. FIRST answered Yohance Salimu basic survival needs when team Mentors offered him a place to stay, food to eat, and, ultimately, the motivation to pursue a successful career in the Air Force.
Collateral Code: FI017
FIRST Boosts Graduation and College Enrollment Rates and Builds Confidence in Pacific Northwest
Interested in encouraging STEM participation among students in a small, rural town located in the northeast corner of Oregon, Superintendent Heidi Sipe created Umatilla's FIRST Robotics Competition team, which now boasts a 100 percent high school graduation rate and has led to the creation of a free K-12 after-school STEM program.
Collateral Code: FI010
How to Encourage STEM to Students in Communities Where There Are No STEM Jobs
Central Missouri's rural Camdenton school district has fully adopted the FIRST Progression of Programs for K-2. One of every 14 students in the district is involved at some level, with students at all levels preparing for the job of the future and building "soft skills" such as teamwork and public speaking.
Collateral Code: FI019
FIRST Helps Student Find a Road to Success
Evan Rotter was not a strong or motivated student, but he loved mechanics. After joining his Wisconsin high school's FIRST team, he gained the motivation to improve his grades and make a post-graduation plan. Evan enrolled in technical college to become an automotive technician.
Collateral Code: FI026
STEM Equity Case Study
Bringing STEM engagement to disadvantaged youth through community-based organizations
Community-based organizations like the YMCA, Girl Scouts, 4-H, and local nonprofits can expand opportunities for young people who are disadvantaged, introducing them to STEM ideas and engagement activities that are not always available in their homes and schools. The FIRST® STEM Equity Community Innovation Grant initiative has identified strategies to help any community organization open STEM pathways for students. These strategies include: removing barriers for students who lack resources, connecting experienced and rookie teams for peer-to-peer or near-peer mentoring, linking students to the larger community, providing training and resources to coaches/facilitators, and engaging students in FIRST programs year-round.
(View web version or download printable PDF)
Collateral Code: DI004
Strategies for creating STEM engagement opportunities in high-poverty schools
Despite the impact STEM enrichment programs can have in engaging student interest and understanding of STEM, many schools struggle to offer hands-on opportunities because they lack funding, coaches, and other forms of support. By providing resources for STEM robotics programs to high-poverty schools and other organizations that reach underserved, underrepresented, and vulnerable students, the FIRST® STEM Equity Community Innovation Grant initiative has identified strategies to help any school open STEM pathways for students. These strategies include: recruiting and training educators as coaches; building coalitions in your local community; removing barriers by providing transportation, food, child care, and teacher-coach stipends; and enabling peer-to-peer or near-peer mentoring.
Collateral Code: DI003
Grant Funding Supports STEM Engagement at Detroit Youth Recreation Center
To fill a critical gap left by the struggling Detroit public school system, the S.A.Y. Detroit Play Center sought high-quality, mentor-driven STEM programs to excite and engage local students at its afterschool tutoring and recreation center. With funding from a FIRST STEM Equity Community Innovation Grant and support from the greater Detroit FIRST community, S.A.Y. (Sports. Academics. Youth.) Play added a robotics room, formed FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge teams, and hosted a tournament in its first year.
Collateral Code: FI043
Grant Partnership Helps Break Down Barriers to STEM Access in First Nations Communities
The Alberta Distance Learning Center (ADLC) is breaking down access barriers to hands-on, community-based STEM learning experiences in First Nations communities in Alberta with the support of a FIRST STEM Equity Community Innovation Grant. The grant helped establish and grow robotics teams at three First Nations schools, including funding ADLC curriculum development, First Nations teacher training, and a celebratory robotics and cultural event.
Collateral Code: FI045