Goleta Education Foundation Awards $10,000 to Octobots Team
Dolores Inés Casillas for the Goleta Education Foundation
Noozhawk
The Goleta Education Foundation (GEF) has made a $10,000 award to the Dos Pueblos High School robotics team the Octobots in recognition of their outstanding achievement at the Southern California Robotics Championships.
Octobots earned a second-place finish and secured a qualification to the World Championships, April 29-May 2, in Houston, Texas.
“While Dos Pueblos High School is part of the Santa Barbara Unified School District, it serves as the primary destination high school for graduates of the Goleta Union School District — making its students very much a part of the Goleta community that GEF exists to serve,” the foundation said.
“This award reflects GEF’s commitment to following students on their full educational journey and investing in opportunities that grow from the foundation built in GUSD classrooms,” GEF said.
“GEF serves a district where equity is not an aspiration — it’s a responsibility. Across GUSD’s nine elementary schools, six receive Title I funding, three offer inclusive preschool programs, and 17% of students are Emerging Multilingual Learners,” GEF reports.
The district’s some 3,400 students reflect a range of socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicities. GEF’s mission is to ensure a student’s access to enriching opportunities — whether in the classroom or on a world championship stage — is never limited by their school’s ability to independently raise funds.
“The Octobots exemplify exactly the kind of excellence and opportunity that GEF exists to support,” said Dan Oh, Goleta Education Foundation president. “We are thrilled to invest in this team as they represent Goleta on the world stage.”
Beyond their competitive accomplishments, the Octobots are committed to inspiring the next generation. Their annual Summer Robotics Camp welcomes students of all experience levels to discover the world of robotics — learning how to design, build, and program their own robot while developing teamwork and problem-solving skills along the way. The program culminates in a final showcase where participants put their creations to the test.
