Dr. Adrienne Simmons Board Member District IV | Gwinnett County Public Schools
Dr. Adrienne Simmons Board Member District IV | Gwinnett County Public Schools
Robotics teams from Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) have achieved significant success in the recent Georgia State VEX Robotics Championships. Teams from Paul Duke STEM High School and Parkview High School were named the 2024 Georgia State Vex Robotics Overall High School Champions, while the team from the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (GSMST) reached the state championship finals. Osborne Middle School's team secured first place in the middle school state tournament.
Six GCPS robotics teams have qualified for the 2024 VEX Robotics World Championship, scheduled to take place from April 25 through May 3 in Dallas, Texas. The event will feature teams from Crews, Lanier, and Osborne Middle Schools alongside GSMST, Parkview High, and Paul Duke STEM High competing against international teams.
Paul Duke STEM High’s coach and physics teacher, Brandon Horsley, expressed pride in their team's accomplishments. “Our state-winning team was a one-man team,” Horsley said. “Senior Jack Pulliam wanted to experience every aspect of robotics without being slowed down. The 18-plus hours per week he spends on robotics far exceeds everyone else in the program. He started his bot last May and has spent the better part of a year iterating and perfecting his particular solution to the challenge. He is a once-in-a-generation competitor, and we are happy he got to compete as a Trailblazer.”
Sallie Holloway, GCPS Director of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, highlighted the educational value of these competitions: “VEX robotics is a great opportunity for students to deepen their engineering, programming, and problem-solving skills beyond the classroom,” Holloway explained. “Students work as a team to solve real-world problems in an exciting robotics challenge that changes each year. We are proud to support these teams and celebrate their achievements! This year, we have the most schools competing at the state and world levels, and we look forward to seeing their hard work recognized.”
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