STEM for Everyone™ Optional Trainings & Resources

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Youth participation and development are important to FIRST. Helping young people to develop leadership competencies makes them better to solve societal and community issues. In December 2018, FIRST formed a Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) to help inspire youth voice and leadership within FIRST.

One of the initial projects of the Youth Advisory Committee was the assistance in developing team-building training for youth. The Inspiring Youth Voice Training modules and animation video was designed to help youth understand the importance of team unity.

We have prepared three modules and an animation video for FIRST youth participants. Each module and the animation are 2-3 minutes.

• Put Her FIRST Video Series - A collection of FIRST^® LEGO^® League videos featuring young women team members.
• FIRST Like A Girl - #FIRSTLikeAGirl strives to improve the culture of STEM by sharing the experiences of the successful women and girls in FIRST.
• Inspiring the Future: High School STEMinists Share Their Stories - Two inspiring FIRST participants share their experiences in the WE23 Diverse Podcast Studio as part of the 2023 Society of Women Engineers Conference.
• Girls Who Code - The organization is building the largest pipeline of future female engineers in the United States. Girls Who Code offers learning opportunities for students and alumni to deepen their computer science skills as well as their confidence.

Created in collaboration with Kids Included Together (KIT), these webinar training focuses on providing coaches and mentors with a better understanding of some of the challenges persons with disabilities face, and how to create a more welcoming and comfortable environment for everyone on their FIRST teams.

• I Can Be Inclusive Too e-Course - These interactive Inclusion tools will provide practical steps to achieve your disability inclusion goals and help you feel confident in understanding inclusion, creating accommodations, supporting and responding positively to behavior challenges and creating supportive environments. Through these videos, we will highlight a path of resources and supports to access at time of need. Participants will leave with several resources, learn from videos, and scenario demonstrations helping to build staff confidence and competence in supporting all youth at your program!
  • ADA Basics
  • Power of Language
  • Connecting for Inclusion Pt. 1
  • Connecting for Inclusion Pt. 2
  • Supportive Responses
  • Using Your Space Wisely
  • Views on Behavior
• Creating a Sense of Belonging – For youth with autism spectrum disorder 
• Inclusive Recruitment and Enrollment Strategies webinar
• Tip Sheets
  • 5 questions for families
  • 5 questions for team members
  • Case by case checklist
  • Gathering info from families

Human Rights Campaign, Project THRIVE FIRST has joined Project THRIVE, a multi-year, collaborative effort of many national organizations led by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation to create support systems and communities for LGBTQ+ youth.

• imi a free online resource for LGBTQ+ youth to support their mental health and well-being.

A critical aspect of being accessible and inclusive is communication with others. The FIRST Localizations & Language Assistance Strategy positions us to meet the communication needs of students experiencing barriers. Students experiencing limited English proficiency and students with hearing, vision, or speech disabilities, should have the opportunity to fully participate in our programs.

Versions of FIRST materials in Spanish

If you need program specific materials in Spanish or another language, please contact your local Program Delivery Partner or FIRST Customer Service for availability and access to those materials.

At FIRST, we are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community for all participants. Well-being is important and we encourage coaches and mentors to educate themselves on ways to best work with their students. A few helpful resources created by the National Institute for Mental Health are linked below. If specific questions or situations arise, we advise you to reach out to organizations that specialize in well-being.

• Stand Up to Stress!
  This printable coloring and activity book for children ages 8-12 teaches kids about stress and anxiety and offers tips for coping in a healthy way. 
  • English
  • Spanish
     
• I’m So Stressed Out!
  This fact sheet can be printed and posted about stress and anxiety and what students can do to cope.
  • English
  • Spanish
     
• I’m So Stressed Out!
  This infographic briefly presents information about stress, anxiety, and ways to cope when feeling overwhelmed. It was developed for use on social media to highlight the “I’m So Stressed Out” fact sheet.
  • English
  • Spanish
     
• Teen Depression: More than just moodiness
  This fact sheet is intended for teens and young adults and presents information about and how to recognize the symptoms of depression and how to get help.
  • English
  • Spanish

Student Recruitment Strategies Tip Sheet

This tip sheet is designed to provide helpful strategies for recruitment of all students for FIRST teams.

Volunteer Recruitment Strategies Tip Sheet
This tip sheet is designed to provide helpful strategies for recruitment of FIRST volunteers: mentors, coaches, judges, and other event volunteers.

FIRST maintains important national Alliance relationships with a network of organizations, corporations, foundations, institutions, colleges and universities, and others that are committed to sustaining key programs that ignite young minds and advocate STEM. These relationships help increase FIRST visibility and provide valuable resources.

At the state/local level, Alliances can have a significant impact in the community by creating more teams, engaging more mentors, and reaching out to more students.

FIRST Alliances:

• advocate and promote career opportunities in STEM in grades K-12;
• look to build on existing STEM related programs; and
• seek ways to engage their memberships in FIRST mentor/coach opportunities as a means of workforce development, increased community involvement, and encouraging their employees to give back to the communities

Learn more about FIRST Alliances.