Team 696 is comprised of approximately 35 students per year, along with a volunteer board of mentors consisting of teachers, parents, and professional engineers. The team is a subset of Clark Magnet High, a public school which places special emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. With the support of Clark Magnet and sponsors such as NASA/JPL and Lexus of Glendale,
Team 696 seeks to educate students in grades 9-12 by encouraging critical thinking skills, perseverance, confidence, and cooperation. Through Team 696's specialized program, students gain the inspiration to pursue higher education and careers in STEM fields. Each January, Team 696 is tasked with the challenge of creating a robot to enter in the annual FIRST Robotics Competition. After the challenge is announced, the team is given six weeks to collaboratively solve overwhelming engineering problems which closely model real-world scenarios. Members spend 200-300 hours outside of their normal school schedule developing skills in computer programming, electrical wiring, mechanical design, business management, and video production. Team 696's rationale is that through a method of guided discovery, each member can further develop his or her skills and interests in a specific sub-group of the team. Involvement in the FIRST Robotics program reinforces and provides practical applications of STEM concepts outside the ordinary classroom environment. For instance, during the team's off-season, members also serve as mentors at local elementary schools. Twice a week, team members mentor afterschool robotics programs with students in grades 4 through 6. Ultimately, Team 696 would like to see Clark Magnet become its district's central hub for STEM education. Team 696 never measures success by its wins or losses in competition; rather, the real winning comes from creating a long-term sustainable program in which students are highly engaged in very rewarding learning opportunities. Team 696 defines success as learning from its mistakes and uniting to achieve a common goal. Team 696 defines success as an increasing number of students involved in its robotics and engineering programs. Team 696 prides itself in partnering students with teachers, engineers, and community mentors to overcome the challenges this highly-technical competition brings. When students graduate from this team and move on to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, Team 696 achieves true success.
