04.08.26 Team Eblast

99h Grant Awards Posted  l  Spring Events  l  SCHECHs for Educators, deadline June 1

99h GRANT AWARDS POSTED

The MDE State Grant 99h Awards have been announced! A simplified spreadsheet showing FIRST team awards by district is available below.

Key Things to Know About the Spreadsheet:

  • Only FIRST team awards are listed.
  • The coaching stipend is awarded per building. It may need to be shared with the other teams in the given building, where applicable. Work with your district/school for this determination.
  • All awards were reduced proportionally due to limited funding:
    • Public schools: 61.89% of maximum
    • Non-public schools: 65.7% of maximum
  • The spreadsheet includes:
    • One tab for public schools
    • One tab for non-public schools

Link to the Spreadsheet:

Payment Info:

  • Funds will be distributed in April.
  • Payments will appear in your district’s monthly school aid payment, not by check.
  • Look for it under Line 99h on the statement that accompanies the School Aid direct deposit.

Errors or Questions:

This grant is administered by the Michigan Dept. of Education. If you notice discrepancies after comparing with your Nexsys application, contact: Mde-edtech@michigan.gov.

Competition Requirement

Competing in a fall 2025 or spring 2026 FIRST in Michigan FTC full-scale event satisfies the competition requirement that accompanies the 99h state grant. Teams that still need to satisfy this requirement can do so by competing in a FiM FTC spring event.

SPRING FTC EVENT REGISTRATION STILL OPEN

Sign-up for spring FiM FTC events is still open. Participation in spring events is optional for teams that competed in the fall season.

    • At Capacity: 5/16-Detroit and 5/16-Troy MAYhem Spring events are at capacity.
    • Open Spots Available: 5/16-Belding and 5/30-Midland Spring Events still have open spots. There are also open spots at the two All Girls events.
    • Stay tuned for news on a potential Upper Peninsula FTC spring event!

There are TWO SEPARATE spring event forms.
One form is to sign up for the FiM FTC traditional, full-scale spring events. The other is for the FTC All-Girls events. Note that participation in an All Girls event, as they are not full-scale events, does not satisfy the competition requirement that accompanies grants.

If your team still needs to compete in a FiM FTC official event in the 2025-26 season to satisfy the competition requirement that accompanies grants (rookie grants, 99h state grant, FiM sponsor-specific grants) the team must sign up for a Spring FIM FTC Traditional Event.

Spring FTC Event Info
Spring events are posted on the FiM FTC EVENTS site page: https://firstinmichigan.us/FTC/events/. All spring events will play the DECODE game.

Spring event placement will be emailed to Lead Coach 1 and 2 after the team’s form is processed. Placements are also posted on the FiM FTC EVENTS site page: https://firstinmichigan.us/FTC/events/.

Spring FiM FTC Traditional, Full Scale Events
Traditional, full-scale events include match play, judging, elimination rounds, and awards. The spring event fee is $100 paid directly to the event host at event check-in.

Off-Season All-Girls FTC Events
These events will not have a judging component. The event is $100 paid directly to the host at event check-in. Off-season event registration forms will be processed on a first come-first served basis until event capacity is reached.

Event Specifics: Drive teams should consist of all girls (with the exception of the drive coach) and, while all genders are more than welcome to support, girls are encouraged to take a leading role in the pits as well. Not enough girls on your team? Invite a few friends from another team or girls who will be transitioning from FLLC to FTC. Team merging is allowed!

Spring Event Readiness
FIRST HQ and FiM FTC things to verify:

  • Team is registered for the 2025-26 season with FIRST HQ.
  • All team event participants (coaches/mentors/team members) have electronically signed a FIRST HQ Consent/Release (C/R) form.
  • Team has both a Lead Coach/Mentor 1 and 2 listed on the Team Dashboard and both have completed their FIRST background screening. The Team Roster will not be accessible until these steps have been completed.
  • Email the event host the team’s FIRST Team Dashboard Roster by Monday of the event week. This needs to be done for every event where the team participates. More info on this once teams are assigned to an event.
    • To download the team roster: On the Team Dashboard, under Team Contacts/Roster section, click “Contact Options”, choose “Print Team Roster”. On Team Contacts page, click “Print Roster”
  • Visit the EVENT READINESS site page for the tasks that must be done for a team to be FIRST HQ and FIRST in Michigan “Event Ready”.
SCECHs FOR EDUCATORS – Due by June 1st

Educators serving as coaches or mentors have the opportunity to earn State Continuing Education Clock Hours or SCECHs. Educators who coached a team in the 2025-26 fall and/or spring season can apply. These hours can be used for renewal and progression of certificates and licenses issued by MDE.

Requirements to Earn SCECHs

  • Applications for SCECHs under the Robotics Competition Grant must be submitted by the educator serving as a coach or mentor.
  • Applicants must include their Personal Identification Code (PIC) within their application. Directions to determine your PIC are included in the application.
  • Applicants may only claim hours as a coach or mentor for teams that participated in one competition.
  • Time spent at competitions does not count toward SCECHs and should not be logged.

SCECH Calculation

For every ten hours of contact, one SCECH is awarded. A maximum number of 40 SCECHs can be awarded for robotics coaching. Time spent at a competition or event does not count toward SCECHs and should not be included in your log.

1 SCECH = 10 hours of service

SCECH Log and Application Instructions

All Robotics Competition Grant SCECH applications are due June 1, 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted. Submitted SCECH applications will not be processed until after the June 1, 2026, due date. Please allow at least two weeks after the due date for your SCECH hours to update.

  1. Record your eligible coaching hours using the SCECH Log. Eligible coaching hours are outlined in the Requirements section above.
  2. Complete the SCECH Application by June 1, 2026. In the application, please upload your completed SCECH Log.

Please direct all questions to the MDE at MDE-EdTech@Michigan.gov.