WH robotics program builds through teamwork, mentorship
Students within the West Holmes Middle School’s robotics program work on their robots during class. Pictured are Colton House, left, Koby Fehr and Clint Burgett.
The world of competitive VEX robotics is built on teamwork. At West Holmes Local Schools, this concept extends beyond individual classroom teams, spanning age groups as older kids mentor the younger. This mentorship echoes the spirit of the school’s robotics program, which has grown significantly since it started four years ago.
When the middle school robotics program was launched, 16 eighth-graders, under the guidance of instructor Brooke Fox, stepped into an entirely new arena. Despite initial growing pains, the group showed determination to succeed, progressing from beginners to state-level champions. Today those students are juniors in high school, leading a program that now starts competitively in seventh grade and will eventually reach the senior class.
“Most schools start with a high school team and then fodder down into the middle school,” Fox said. “We did it backwards. Those skills that they learned in middle school really helped set a foundation for them in high school.”
The program, which focuses on STEM principles using VEX robotics hardware and software, helps students develop essential skills both inside the classroom and through competition. The middle school has four teams while the high school has six, with each team consisting of four to six students. Teams work together in specialized roles — drivers, coders, designers and builders — learning to rely on each other’s strengths.
An important part of the program is the organic mentorship between the older and younger students. Two years ago middle and high school classes were combined, fostering a “big-little” experience where older students helped guide their younger peers.
Although classes are now held at separate buildings, the relationship hasn’t stopped. High school and middle school students often attend blended competitions, giving advice and helping them outside the class. Some even bring robots home to continue working together, and others stop by the middle school’s robotics class during study hall to help.
“Those kids really laid the foundation work for our program,” Fox said. “They are so valuable to the younger kids, mentoring them, giving advice.”
This mentorship allows younger students to gain insight from their peers including robot design, coding and tournament strategies. A part of the VEX competition is maintaining an engineering notebook, where students document their designs, ideas and problem-solving processes. Students learn how to articulate their findings to the judges, providing them with the soft-skill interview experience.
“A lot of seventh- and eighth-graders aren’t getting that experience, but the kids in this competition robotics class are,” Fox said.
Students also develop teamwork and problem-solving skills. In competitions teams of four robots compete in an arena, and teams are paired with other teams to form alliances. This allows students to collaborate with unfamiliar teams, strategizing and leveraging each other's strengths.
Coders use VEX software, a simple block-based code, Fox said. However, VEX can run on Python code, which some of her eighth-graders and many high school students now use.
David Woods, who took over the high school’s robotics program this year, also has seen growth in his students, emphasizing the benefit of a program that allows students to build off the previous year.
“Last year there were two teams that were able to integrate pneumatics into their robots as functional components,” Woods said. “This year every team is actually integrating pneumatics. Multiple teams are integrating not just one piston, but like five or six different pistons into the robots.”
There is value in having a program that continues from middle to high school, Fox said. While the VEX season spans fall to mid-March, her students use the remainder of the year to brush up on skills and target weaknesses. VEX releases a new game in late spring, which allows students to plan in the summer months.
Both middle and high school teams are off to a good start this season. At a qualifying tournament in December, three out of four middle school teams won awards. The Knight Hawks team earned the Coding Award, the Hardy Boys won the Tournament Finalists Award and Judges Award for their interviewing skills, and the Girly Pops team took home the Build Award. The Sweet Peas, an all-girls high school team, won the Judges Award twice for their outstanding notebook this fall. The Canadian Loners, who made it to the state competition last year, were tournament finalists.
Teams are preparing for the 2025 Ohio VEX V5 Robotics State Championship, with the goal of qualifying by winning an entire tournament or receiving the Excellence Award, which requires a quality engineering notebook, coding, high score percentages and overall tournament rank.
“I do have hopes that a few teams will be able to qualify for state either through skills or through one of those awards,” Woods said.
Fox is proud of her founding class' dedication, which only continued the drive.
“Just the dedication they have to really want to be good at this blows my mind,” Fox said. “I'm very impressed with the kids.”