Woodland Hills hosted the first Unified Robotics Competition of the school year on Friday, as it welcomed teams from Beaver/New Horizon, Blackhawk, Hopewell, and West Allegheny for the event.
Formed last year through a partnership with Special Olympics Pennsylvania, the Unified Robotics program pairs special education students with regular education students as they work together to score points on a course designed by VEX Robotics. Teams have two 60 second periods to score as many points as possible on the course. The competition is purposefully set up to encourage students to develop their skills as communicators, engineers, and problem solvers, and to promote a collaborative and inclusive environment.
While Woodland Hills did not compete in Friday's competition, members of the Woodland Hills team served as volunteers and helped run the game courses. They and additional teams from other school districts will join future competitions to be held later this school year.