The Ballston Spa High School Robotics Team 3044 was recently selected to receive a 2014 NASA Robotics Alliance Regional Challenge Grant.
The grant supports the team’s registration fee (up to $5,000) for the New York Tech Valley Regional that will be held on March 13-15 at RPI in Troy. Team 3044 is one of 10 teams to receive the Regional Challenge Grant and one of 88 veteran teams nationwide to be selected for a NASA grant.
“Team mentor David Torrey together with coach Greg Roberts and science coordinator Diane Irwin put a lot of time and effort into coordinating an outstanding proposal as part of this competitive national funding opportunity. We are thrilled to continue to secure outside resources for our robotics programs.” said Superintendent Dr. Joseph P. Dragone.
In addition to the grant, the team has once again received generous support from Ballston Spa National Bank (BSNB), the lead sponsor of the Robotics team since its rookie year, to fund the team’s participation in the annual US FIRST Robotics competition.
The $6,000 in funding, combined with additional corporate sponsorships and team fundraising, will allow the district’s team to design and construct a robot according to this year’s specifications, participate in regional competitions, and continue to expand the robotics initiatives to additional students in the district.
“At BSNB, we value educational programs that prepare students for the workplace. By partnering with the Ballston Spa Central School District on efforts such as the robotics program, we hope to help shape the minds and develop the leaders of the next generation,” said Christopher R. Dowd, president and CEO of Ballston Spa National Bank. The team is planning to compete in both the New York Tech Valley Regional Competition and the Finger Lakes Regional Competition this year.
FRC Team 3044 had their rookie season in 2009 with 18 students and four mentors and has since grown to over 40 students and 15 mentors this school year. The working philosophy of Team 3044 is to provide the opportunity for all students to grow into talented and productive young men and women who will be tomorrow’s innovators and leaders. This past year the team and their alliance partners won the WPI Regional Competition and were able to participate in the FRC Championship Tournament in St. Louis, Missouri.
“BSNB’s ongoing commitment in supporting STEM enrichment opportunities for our students can be seen throughout our school community”, said Joseph P. Dragone, Ph.D., Superintendent of the Ballston Spa schools. He further indicated that “Participation in robotics competitions gives our students the problem solving skills and the ability to innovate that will transfer to the workplace.”
This year, Ballston Spa National Bank was also the title sponsor for the school district’s Fall Family Festival that took place at Ellms Family Farm. Nearly $3,000 was raised from the event that will support mission related programs and initiatives through the Ballston Spa Partnership for Innovation in Education Fund, a component fund of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region.