What a great article to read! I love hearing about exciting things the kids are doing at the schools! 2nd out of 48 is outstanding! Good job, Crittenden!

i was delighted to read about the Crittendon robotics team! Congratulations on the terrific accomplishments in the tournament -- especially getting 2nd place for Teamwork...those skills will take students a long way in life. What a shame to have the JV squad unable to enter the tournament because of funds. How much is needed, and where can community members direct donations??

We welcome all support, financial and otherwise, for the Crittenden Pantherbots as well as other curricular and extra-curricular programs! Please contact me at gchang@mvwsd.org if interested. Thank you, and GO PANTHERS!

Geoff Chang
Principal, Crittenden Middle School

Why not just charge kids who want to participate in a class like this a $100 fee to enroll? I mean at the end of the day they are playing with Legos.i'm sure companies in this area are light years ahead of whatever they can one up with.......just saying.

@Sean: The students do much more than just play with legos. They learn programming, engineering, and perhaps most importantly, problem solving skills. If you're curious, check out the website of the organization that runs the tournaments: Web Link

By nurturing our kids' interest in and facility with technologies such as robotics, we not only build their skill set, but we also prime them to pursue tech/robotics as a hobby or career. Check out this article in the Mercury News about the use of a robot at PG&E: Web Link

As for the fee, we typically do ask for donations from families whose students participate in enrichment after school, but not all families are able to contribute financially. Thus, we rely on generous support from readers like yourself and from our Mountain View Educational Foundation.

It's so true that the ability of families to pay for extra activities varies widely here in Mountain View, where more than half our students come from families who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. I love that our schools are committed to making opportunities available for all students. You would be amazed how often teachers go out-of-pocket to get a kid into an activity, or how many prosperous families will pay double so a needy kid can participate. The government can't take care of everything, but Mountain View takes care of its own and I hope we all keep doing so. Community support is so important!
I don't have a kid in Robotics, but I am a parent of a Crittenden student and I'm proud our teachers take the time to introduce our kids to real-world applications for their textbook learning through robotics, rocketry, speech & debate, performance, and more. We are so lucky!