Verner, Northridge High Win Big At State Robotics Competition

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Two Tuscaloosa City Schools (TCS) recently snagged top honors at the Alabama Robotic Competition earlier this month.

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TCS said Verner Elementary and Northridge High School both won first place in the competition, marking the second year in a row for Verner that its students earned the top spot.

The competition was hosted by the University of Alabama College of Engineering and featured roughly 300 K-12 students from around Alabama.

Students learned computer science and basic programming skills through interactive challenges, with teams judged on their programming skills by writing programs onsite to navigate their robots across a series of obstacle courses.

In total, seven TCS schools placed in the competition.

TCS says Central Elementary placed fourth and Rock Quarry Elementary placed fifth, while two teams from Northridge Middle School placed, taking both the second-place and third-place awards.

In the high school category, Northridge High School won first place while Paul W. Bryant High School won third place.

“We are proud of all of our students that competed in this event, and the fact that so many of our students placed in this high-level competition is evidence of the importance we place on robotics and STEM education in the Tuscaloosa City Schools,” TCS Superintendent Mike Daria said.

Verner Elementary robotics teacher Haley Day also said the school had two teams, one for fourth graders and one for fifth graders. However, it was the older team’s strategic thinking, she said, that helped the team win the highest honor.

“They knew their strengths and weaknesses and they definitely played to their strengths,” Day said. “One thing I really love about these competitions is the lack of communication between the coaches and competitors. This puts all the success into the hands of the students working through the challenges. I can prepare them to the best of my ability, but when the competition starts it's all on them.”

NHS robotics coach Michele Fuller said her team worked hard to get the first-place billing and won $30 gift certificates as part of the honor.

“Our students are very talented and motivated,” Fuller said. “They have worked together for the past three years and won many awards at Shelton State Best Robotics and the Sea Mate Competition held on Dauphine Island. We are so proud of them.”

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