FIRST Lego League: Starting Early in Robotics and STEM

As the industry faces a critical shortage of skilled labor along with a rapid evolution toward new technologies, the need to cultivate a "mission-critical" workforce has never been more urgent. These days, the future of American manufacturing isn't being decided in boardrooms or on factory floors but in the classrooms of America. There, early engagement is introducing elementary school students to courses in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and transforming the way they perceive the manufacturing long before they even reach high school.

At the recent SME Mission Critical Workforce 2030 event held at FABTECH, manufacturing’s largest event for metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing, these stakes were front and center. In a revealing segment of SME Insights, Greg Jones, Director of Strategic Programs and Partnerships with SME, sat down with Rebecca Kornack, the Computer Science Elementary School Content Manager for Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

Their conversation offered a fascinating look under the hood of one of the most ambitious STEM initiatives in the country. Through the Office of Computer Science, Chicago Public Schools is leveraging the globally recognized FIRST Robotics programs to create a seamless K-12 pathway, ensuring that the students of today are ready to become the innovators of tomorrow.

A Strategic Shift: The "All In" Approach

While robotics in schools is not a new concept, the scale and strategy currently employed by CPS represent a significant departure from the past. During the interview, Kornack provided historical context, noting that while the district had engaged with FIRST LEGO League (FLL) since the late 1990s, participation was often fragmented.

"It was really in 2021 that we decided to go all in and create a pathway for K to 12 in terms of robotics," Kornack explained to Jones. "We decided to really go in on FIRST and try to scale the access to the program across the district."

This decision was born out of necessity. Following the educational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the district noticed that many robotics teams struggled to sustain themselves. In the spring of 2021, the Office of Computer Science revamped its support structures, providing more robust resources to ensure schools could start and finish their seasons successfully.

The impact of this strategic pivot has been profound. The program has grown from roughly 30 schools participating in the middle school competition level to over 150 schools today. In the last academic year alone, over 8,000 students across the district participated in FIRST LEGO League programs, proving that when you provide access, students will eagerly step up to the challenge.

The Ecosystem: A Tiered Approach to Innovation

Central to this success is the structured, tiered nature of the programming offered through the CPS Office of Computer Science. According to the district website, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, CPS utilizes the three distinct divisions of the FIRST LEGO League to meet students exactly where they are developmentally.

1. FIRST LEGO League Discover (Ages 4-6) The pipeline begins in Pre-K and 1st grade. The Discover division is designed to introduce the youngest learners to STEM concepts through playful, hands-on activities. At this stage, the focus isn't on competition but on sparking curiosity and normalizing the idea of "building" and "experimenting" as part of early education.

2. FIRST LEGO League Explore (Ages 6-10) As students move into grades 2-4, they transition to the Explore division. Here, the complexity increases slightly. The program focuses on engineering fundamentals, requiring students to engage in hands-on problem-solving using LEGO bricks. This stage is critical for bridging the gap between simple play and structured engineering thinking.

3. FIRST LEGO League Challenge (Ages 9-16) This is the flagship elementary and middle school program, catering to grades 4-8. In the Challenge division, the stakes are raised. Teams are tasked with building and programming a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot to navigate a field game and complete specific missions autonomously. However, it’s not just about the robot. Kornack emphasized that this level includes a rigorous research project. Students must identify a real-world problem related to the season's theme—such as ocean exploration or archaeology—and propose an innovative solution. This dual focus on technical skills and research fosters a holistic skillset that is rare in traditional curricula.

Beyond the Classroom: The High School Pathway

The K-8 programs are designed to feed directly into the high school levels, ensuring students don't "age out" of their interest in STEM.

• FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC): For grades 7-12, where students design, build, and program robots for head-to-head alliance competitions.
• FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC): The highest level for grades 9-12, often described as "varsity sports for the mind," where students build large-scale industrial robots.

Kornack highlighted that these high school programs are where the career connections become most visible. "A lot of the students and schools that we work with, their communities don't have a history of STEM," she noted. "Their families might not have participated in those career fields, so it's really important for us to expose students to the full possibilities."

The "Windy City Windup": Visualizing the Future

One of the unique strategies CPS employs to solidify this pathway is cross-pollinating the age groups. Jones and Kornack discussed the Windy City Windup, a major fall kickoff event that takes place at one of the district’s high schools.

While the event features an off-season FRC tournament for high schoolers, it also serves as the season launch for the elementary teams. The goal is visual exposure. By bringing 4th graders into the same arena as high schoolers, the younger students get to see the "end game." They witness the intensity of the "pits," the complexity of the large robots, and the teamwork required to keep them running.

"They've seen these large robots that high schoolers use, but they've never seen them in action," Kornack said. "They don't know all the different areas of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science... and that you need all of these things in order to see one of those [robots] function."

The event also partners with the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry to offer mechatronics workshops, further bridging the gap between classroom theory and industrial application. “In our world, students who study mechatronics are going to get into one of those industrial maintenance technology positions that's going to allow them to fix robots and fix automation equipment and fix very high technology stuff—very well-paying jobs. That's a great career track for these kids to be able to see at such a young age,” said Jones.

Developing the "Soft Skills" for Industry

Throughout the interview, Jones pointed out that the manufacturing industry is currently facing a skills gap that extends beyond technical ability. Modern manufacturers need employees who can communicate, lead, and manage projects.

The FIRST programs address this head-on. "The FRC teams, especially, they're not just building robots," Jones observed. "There's a business manager. There's a marketing person. There's all sorts of job functions."

Kornack agreed, noting that CPS incorporates public speaking workshops into its events. Since the FIRST LEGO League Challenge requires students to present their research projects to judges, they must learn to articulate complex ideas clearly and confidently—a skill that will serve them in boardrooms and shop floors alike.

Replication Is Key

As the conversation at FABTECH concluded, the message was clear: The workforce of 2030 is being built today, one LEGO brick at a time. By combining the technical rigor of the Office of Computer Science with the inspiring framework of FIRST, Chicago Public Schools has created a model that changes lives. Recognizing this impact, a core part of SME’s strategy is to identify successful programs like this and encourage their replication in other regions. Whether these students eventually become mechatronics technicians, automation engineers, or simply tech-savvy citizens, expanding these programs ensures we are preparing students in ways that the future demands.

To learn more, watch the full interview below.