Texas Workforce Commission's $760,000 grant to fuel 400 new & 100 existing VEX Robotics Competition teams, new events and a special Texas Online Challenge

ROCKWALL, Texas--The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation and the Texas Workforce Commission today announced a partnership to support growth and development of 400 new and 100 existing VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) high school teams to engage approximately 5,000 students both in public school and home school settings. In addition, the grant will fund a new VRC Texas Online Challenge, a VEX Robotics Competition Mobile Event Trailer, and seek to enhance the community of REC Foundation volunteers in Texas.

"The REC Foundation is grateful to the Texas Workforce Commission for providing students in Texas access to an affordable, sustainable, and curriculum-based robotics engineering program in the VEX Robotics Competition," said Jason Morrella, President, REC Foundation. "We share the Texas Workforce Commission's interest in providing more students access to high quality science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs that will impact their future college and career aspirations, encouraging them to pursue these fields."

"It is important to inspire the future workforce to become innovators in science and technology," Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Andres Alcantar said. "This competition encourages students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math endeavors that help them acquire skills for high-demand occupations."

The VEX Robotics Competition, presented by the REC Foundation, experienced an incredible 51% growth in teams during the 2012-2013 season, expanding to include over 7,300 middle school and high school teams. The Texas Workforce Commission grant will uniquely position the REC Foundation to respond to interest among Texas students and provide competition opportunities in San Antonio, Killeen (Fort Hood), Katy, Houston, Austin and rural and underserved communities in other areas of the state. The new VRC Mobile Event trailer will enable the REC Foundation to take the competition to where the students are, eliminating costly travel and time away from home or out of school.

The REC Foundation manages the VEX Robotics Competition, which provides students and teams worldwide with hands-on, curriculum-based robotics engineering programs while also engaging them in valuable teamwork and problem-solving experience. Teams compete year-round at more than 400 events which culminate in April at the annual VEX Robotics Competition World Championship.

VEX Robotics is the largest co-curricular middle and high school robotics program and is expected to reach more than 100,000 students during the 2013-2014 season. To learn more about the REC Foundation, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org.

About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation

The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work.

About the Texas Workforce Commission

The Texas Workforce Commission is a state agency dedicated to helping Texas employers, workers and communities prosper economically. For details on TWC and the services it offers in coordination with its network of local workforce development boards, call 512-463-8942 or visit www.texasworkforce.org.