23-24 Modern Minds Mechanics LEGO Team

Welcome! I am Mrs. Phillips, the STEM instructor at Modern Minds Learning in Ormond Beach, Florida. This school year looks better than ever, how amazing it is! I teach at a school with like minded individuals who support true STEM education and a group of 7 boys and 2 girls who want to make a difference in the world and in their own education! These funds will be used throughout the season for registration of competitions/events, field studies, travel, meet-ups, competition outfits/costumes, a brand new robot, project development, prototype materials, competition “pit” decor, and anything else these students could possibly need. It is strictly funding for their team and they take their donations very seriously! Anything helps and they get so excited to know there are people out there who want to take stake in their education!

I have seen this program move mountains in children by developing passion that you rarely see in education these days! The robotics in this program provide students with opportunities for programming beyond the basics. 67% of all new STEM jobs are related to programming/computing and the ratio of qualified workers to new jobs will continue to increase with technological advances. The students are beyond challenged with rigor and begin to hold themselves to a level of excellence from their own intrinsic motivations to change the world.We live in a time where we can provide a change through powerful programs like FIRST and involving kids in the world current problem and events will take us farther than you can imagine. Why robotics? Why “LEGO League”? There are nearly 700,000 open computing jobs in the US, but only 80,000 computer science students graduated into the workforce last year. 45% of high schools in the US teach computer science. Over half of high school students get NO education in Computer Science at school.

We should be peaking our students interests and allowing pursuit of their passions at a young age! Engaging kids in amazing programs like FIRST (who offers STEM opportunities to all and competition to 4th-12th with $80 million in scholarships) at an early age can set them up for success in high school, so they are taking the correct courses that align with their goals. Offering computer, science or STEM education to students, will increase the demand from students to receive these courses at the high school level. Furthermore, it could bring opportunities to receive entry level certifications and/or vocational training.

Thank you for your support! And a HUGE thank you to Steve Waterman, our Director at Modern Minds, for allowing us to have this opportunity!