EPS Academic Spotlight

Middle School Robotics Teams Put Engineering Skills to the Test at Clark College

The room at Clark College East Campus buzzed with concentration and excitement as middle school students leaned over laptops, made last-minute adjustments to lines of code, and carefully placed their LEGO robots onto the competition field.

Moments later, the countdown began. Robots rolled forward across the themed mat, attempting missions inspired by this year’s LEGO League challenge: Archaeology. Around the tables, teammates watched closely—celebrating successful moves and quickly planning adjustments when things didn’t go as expected.

Students from four Evergreen Public Schools middle schools gathered for the robotics competition, where teams designed, built, and programmed robots to complete a series of engineering challenges. While the teams participate as after-school robotics clubs, the event is supported through Evergreen’s Career and College and Technical Education (CCTE) program and connects directly to robotics coursework offered in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.

Working in two-person teams, students coded their LEGO robots to perform a series of precise tasks on the competition field. Each mission required careful planning, testing, and revision as teams adjusted their code and strategy between rounds. For many students, the competition represents the first step in a longer STEM pathway that continues into middle school robotics courses and high school engineering and robotics programs.

But the event tested more than engineering skills.

Between robot matches, teams participated in interviews with judges, answering questions about their design process and reflecting on the teamwork behind their projects. Students discussed how they solved problems, supported one another, and persevered through challenges during the season.

The competition also highlighted the power of mentorship. Students from Mountain View High School’s robotics program volunteered throughout the event, serving as referees for robot matches and judges during team interviews, while also helping guide middle school teams, offering troubleshooting advice, and encouraging younger students as they prepared for their next round.

Their presence created a powerful example of the STEM learning pathway available to Evergreen students. 

This competition is built around the idea that interest in STEM is one of the strongest predictors of students pursuing future studies and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. By engaging students through hands-on challenges and collaborative problem-solving, robotics clubs create meaningful opportunities for students to explore these fields early.*

*Rocker Yoel, S., Shwartz Asher, D., Schohet, M., & Dori, Y. J. (2020). The effect of the FIRST robotics program on its graduates. Robotics, 9(4), 84. 

Mountain View High School CCTE teacher Kitty Ng shared in the excitement of youth robotics competition, noting, “These experiences help students develop not only technical skills but also the “durable skills” that support success in school and beyond—communication, collaboration, persistence, and creative thinking.” 

Throughout the day, those skills were on full display. Students huddled over laptops refining code, celebrated successful runs, and encouraged teammates after tough rounds.

Several Evergreen middle schools host robotics clubs throughout the year. In addition to the teams competing in this event, Wy’east Middle School also offers a robotics club that runs earlier in the school year. Events like this bring many of those programs together to celebrate student innovation and learning.

For the students competing, the robots may have been small—but the ideas, creativity, and enthusiasm behind them were anything but.