During its annual convention, the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) awarded Sumner County Schools with the 2023 Excellence in Education Program accolade for their successful and innovative STEM and Robotics program.
Sumner County Schools dominated the middle school robotics state competition at the 2023 Tennessee VIQC Robotics Tournament held in Collierville, Tennessee this year. Eight of the top ten teams were from Sumner County Schools, with Westmoreland Middle placing first in the competition. Six Sumner County robotics teams advanced to the World Tournament in Dallas, Texas competing against teams from Ecuador, Australia, and Norway.
Each year, SCS students are presented with an exciting engineering challenge in the form of a game for the VEX Robotics Competition / VEX IQ Challenge. Students are tasked with building innovative robots and work in teams to develop game strategy, design, and teamwork.
“It’s exciting to see Sumner County students competing on the biggest stage for robotics; it doesn’t get any bigger or better than the world tournament,” said Dr. Scott Langford, Sumner County Schools Director. “We’ve worked really hard to build a competitive robotics program for our students and develop STEM/STEAM programs that are cutting-edge and relevant, and this proves we are headed in the right direction. We are grateful for the TSBA’s recognition and are eager to innovate further, enhancing our STEM/STEAM and robotics programs to shape the future leaders of Sumner County.”
Sumner County Schools continues to lead the state in the number of STEM / STEAM schools with 12 designations and boasts the highest number of certified career and technical education (CTE) pathways in the state.
Sumner County Schools’ engineering program received global attention earlier this year after students created a robotic hand for a new classmate in just four weeks. The school district was highlighted on the CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell, The Drew Barrymore Show, BBC, Newsweek, Washington Post, Yahoo! and several more. The global attention inspired others to create their own prosthetic hand with the same resources SCS students used
 awarded Sumner County Schools with the 2023 Excellence in Education Program accolade for their successful and innovative STEM and Robotics program.){kind=link}