Robotics 2025 Application

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Empowering Rural School with Robotics

Updated 5/1/2025

The Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, with support from Chevron, is excited to offer both FIRST Lego League and FIRST Tech Challenge teams for the 2025-2026 school year.

FCSS/CHEVRON's priority with this funding is to reduce barriers and increase FIRST Tech Challenge participation of middle/high school-aged students who are under-resourced or have been traditionally underrepresented in STEM.

Criteria: More than 50% of the team meets one or more of the following team demographics:

Students in rural and/or underserved areas
Students identify as Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, or People of Color
Students are Female
Students are eligible for free/reduced lunch

Rookie teams can apply for support consisting of FIRST team registration; Fresno FLL/FTC Regional event registration; robotics kits; hand tools. Additionally, FTC will include 3 scrimmage opportunities and 1 off-season league tournament opportunity.

Please submit ONE (1) form per team. Sponsorship is limited to one award per team per season. Multiple teams from a single school/organization must apply separately and will only be awarded if funds are remaining. Applicants will receive an award decision via email early June depending on application date.

Teams accepting grant funds must:

Register for and participate in the current FIRST season and the Fresno Qualifying Tournament based on team type (FLL/FTC)
UPDATED: Rookie teams MUST send at least one representative (maximum 2 per FTC team) to the FIRST Certified Professional Development training, hosted by FCSS on July 16th and 17th at CTEC High School at 1320 N Mariposa St, Fresno, CA 93703.
Report on demographics of students impacted through the grant support

Applications will be reviewed starting May 2025 and preliminarily awarded on a weekly basis until funding is exhausted or June 30th, 2025. A rookie team representative is required to register for the FIRST Certified Professional Development Training for the grant to be issued.

FIRST FAQ's

Learn more about FIRST LEGO LEAGUE at https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/fll

FLL Standards Alignment:

Learn more about FIRST TECH CHALLENGE at https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/ftc

Standards Alignment:

2023 Longitudinal Study Highlight

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Impact Report 2023

Additional Impact Reports

Work-Based Learning Toolkit

Certified Professional Development FAQs:

What is FIRST Certified Professional Development Training?

FIRST Certified Professional Development is an immersive learning experience that will help you acquire or strengthen your facilitation skills for project-based learning and 21st-century skills such as creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork in an active learning environment.
Each course is led by a FIRST Certified Trainer and provides the necessary tools to bring FIRST programs to your classroom or as a structured afterschool program.
Certificates for continuing education or professional development credit are provided following the completion of the session.

What can I expect from the FIRST Tech Challenge Professional Development?

The FIRST® Tech Challenge professional development course gives attendees a strong understanding of how to implement the FIRST Tech Challenge program and how to achieve science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning objectives.
In FIRST Tech Challenge, students learn to think like engineers. Teams design, build, and program robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams with a spirit of friendly competition. Many call it “the hardest fun you’ll ever have.”
Participants in this course will walk in the footsteps of the students as they engage in these hands-on experiences and practice engineering principles such as keeping an engineering notebook.

What are the course requirements?

FCSS/Chevron Provides on set based on league selection:
- FIRST® Lego League
  - Spike Prime Kit
  - Spike Expansion Kit
  - FLL Challenge Class Pack
  - FLL Table
  - FLL Team Registration
  - FLL Qualifier Registration
- FIRST® Tech Challenge
  - Robotic kit (Rev/Studica/...)
  - Control and Communication Set
  - Electronics Module and Sensor Set
  - Batteries and charger
  - FTC Team Registration
  - FTC Qualifier Registration
Participant Brings:
- PC Computer with internet access

What are the course objectives?

By the end of this course, you will:

Participate in the FIRST experience from a student’s point of view
Explore the essential components of the FLL/FTC program
Feel comfortable using hardware and software components of FLL/FTC robotics kits such as Spike Prime, REV and Studica
Understand how to code using Blockly programming software
Learn how to facilitate hands-on activities for the classroom or after-school programs
Collaborate with other participants and share best practices
Be able to foster computational thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills in students
Have experience with Project-Based Learning, the Engineering Design Process, and 21st Century Skills
Implement Diversity and Inclusion practices
Utilize, model, and reinforce the FIRST Core Values