A group of students at Ohio Virtual Academy (OHVA) — a full-time, tuition-free, online public school for grades K-12 — have been named fourth-place winners in the K12 National Robotics Competition, a competition presented by Stride, Inc. exclusively for students in its K12-powered schools across the country. The OHVA team included Reed Wiest, an eighth grader from Piketon, Lincoln DelGrosso, an eighth grader from Kettering, and Connor Pritchard, a sixth grader from Dayton.

In May, the students from OHVA — known as the OHVA Cardinals team — participated in the K12 National Robotics Competition, facing off against 11 other teams in the virtual first round. Using Cogmation Robotics software, each team member was required to develop code to navigate a maze with their robot. Progressing to the second virtual round, the OHVA Cardinals competed in a recycling challenge, instructing their robot to pick up cans and place them in a recycling bin. After a successful second round, the OHVA Cardinals and four other teams from Texas and Washington advanced to the final round.

For the final competition, each team headed to the Stride headquarters in Reston, VA to compete in person. The final challenge required the teams to initiate their code on a computer to instruct the robot to move two blocks from a starting point to a designated square on the robotics mat. Scores from the best of three rounds were used to determine winners, placing the OHVA Cardinals in fourth place.

“Reed, Lincoln, and Connor worked extremely hard over the last few months on their code, and it was encouraging to see their hard work pay off,” said Dr. Kristin Stewart, Executive Director at OHVA. “We’re extremely grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with K12 to offer experiences like this to all our students, allowing them to explore their interests in a real-world setting.”

Robotics is just one of the many courses and career clubs OHVA offers students in grades 7-12. OHVA students can take career-focused electives that are centered around high-demand career fields, such as agriculture, food and natural resources, business, education, engineering, health sciences, and information technology. In addition, OHVA’s career clubs allow students to connect, practice professional skills, work on service projects, take field trips, and compete against other local, state, and national schools and organizations.

For more information about OVHA, visit ohva.k12.com

About Ohio Virtual Academy

Ohio Virtual Academy (OHVA) is an accredited, full-time online public charter school authorized by the Ohio Council of Community Schools (OCCS) that serves students in grades K-12. As part of the Ohio public school system, OHVA is tuition-free and provides families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12, a Stride Company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build skills for their future. For more information about OHVA, visit ohva.k12.com.

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