Fort Worth school board honors robotics team, ‘scholar athletes’ during special meeting

Hundreds of Fort Worth parents, teachers and supporters of district students attended Tuesday’s special board meeting to honor athletic scholars and a JROTC robotics team.

Every year, the district honors its “Scholar Athletes” at a May board meeting.

The recognition originated in 1984 by then-trustee T.A. Sims., who wanted to honor student-athletes for their work in the classroom and on the playing field, according to a district press release.

The Scholar Athlete program recognizes two students — one male and one female — from each middle and high school in the district. The athletes are chosen on the basis of their grade-point average and their athletic participation, with an emphasis on their grades.

The Southwest High School’s JROTC VEX Robotics team was also honored after they won the National Skills Match Championship, the largest robotics competition involving over 40 countries worldwide, according to a press release.

VEX Robotics offers students the opportunity to participate in engineering, programming and team-building activities.

“When students are provided with the tools and these types of STEM activities, the outcomes are almost always amazing,” said Lt. Col. George W. Vinzant, the Senior Army Instructor for South High School JROTC. “There’s nothing more enjoyable than seeing a group of students like our Raiders work hard and achieve great things.”