Who knew back then that 12 years later I would be standing before the school board, pleading a case to have the gymnasium of the very school I attended as a child and taught at for many years, for a FIRST robotics center. Smith Road Elementary School was sadly closed this year due to budget cuts and has been mostly vacant since last June.
The Superintendent granted my team use of the gym this year so we could have the high ceilings needed for our basketball challenge. For 10 years, the BHS team has lived out of a storage area, having to haul all of the equipment out on a daily basis for practice. For the first time ever, we were able to set up our field and leave it set up. The benefits our team saw were huge, and we decided we wanted to keep the gym year round. You see, while our official season runs from January through April, we coach, mentor and support programs for younger students year round. We weren't the only ones with our eyes on it though and it wasn't easy to come by.
Last Thursday, almost a year after I proposed the gym be given to the robotics team, the Senior Citizen Center made a proposal to the school board asking them to allow SRE to become the new senior center. They have outgrown their current facility and were looking forward to more space about as much as we were enjoying our new space. We decided to attend the board meeting to plead our own case for the space. My captains spoke up. I was very proud of my captains as they told the board how important it was to keep the gym space for a robotics center. They are seniors, so they really have nothing to gain by this center, but they want to keep the program growing. When it was my turn to speak, my voice got shaky, my body got shaky, it was hard to get through my speech. I've spoken before large groups of people and never been so nervous, I guess I just wanted it for my team that much. The board listened! They heard what we were saying and they did not approve the initial senior proposal. A small step for us.
This week, administration met with the senior administration and us and we were thankfully able to work out a deal to share the facility. The Senior Center will take over a large portion of the school, but we will be able to keep the gym year round! One Giant Leap.... for Bedford Express, for Bedford FIRST robotics, for area youth wanting to learn about science, math and technology, for bridging a gap between seniors and public schools, for us all!
Though we awaited final board approval tonight, the wait is now over. The school board, the administration, the community recognized this FIRST robotics program with this amazing first, a space dedicated to us! FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science & Technology) Robotics has been a part of my life for the past 12 years, but today our program took One Giant Leap!
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