My student is currently participating in a Broomfield STEM program. Do I need to add them to the waitlist for next year?

If your student is currently participating in Discover Bots, FLL Explore, FLL Challenge, or FTC team you do not need to add them to the waitlist for next year. They will automatically have priority registration to keep their spot in Broomfield Robotics when registration for returning students opens at the beginning of April. The same is true if your student will be moving up to the next level robotics program next year - you do not need to add them to the waitlist for the next level program.

If your student is currently enrolled in any of our clubs and you want them to be considered for a spot in Broomfield Robotics (Discover Bots, FLL Explore, FLL Challenge, or an FTC team) next year, you DO need to add them to the waitlist. Students enrolled in one of our clubs who are on the waitlist will have higher priority for any open spots that become available once all returning students have registered in April.

If your student has attended a Summer Camp and is not currently participating on a team or club, you DO need to add them to the waitlist if they want to participate during the school year.

My student is on the waitlist for last year and did not get a spot. Do I need to add them to the waitlist again?

Yes, please. Each summer we ask families to confirm that they want to remain on the waitlist by re-joining. This is also a good time to update profile and contact information and program and team preferences. We do keep track of the date your student was first added to the waitlist, so you will not lose your place in line as long as you re-join each summer. All students who have not re-joined the waitlist by August 31st will be dropped from it and will lose their place in line.

I added my student to the waitlist. What happens next?

Once you add your student to the waitlist in Jumbula, you should receive an email confirmation. Then you wait. If a spot becomes available, we will notify you via email with instructions and a link to register your student. You will only have 1 week to register your student before we offer the spot to another student, so please watch your email and respond as quickly as possible, especially in May and June when we begin to fill open spots for the following year.

Can you tell me what number my student is on the waitlist?

Our waitlist process is somewhat complicated, so we are not able to tell you exactly where your student is on it. In order to balance our teams and programs for sustainability, we allocate an even number of spots for each grade level and gender, which means we actually have multiple waitlists for each program, not just one. Which programs have spots available depends entirely on which students move up to the next program, switch programs, or choose to move on to other things.

How long do you expect my student to be on the waitlist?

This is hard to predict because it varies by program and depends a lot on attrition (which is currently about 15%), but right now the wait seems to be 1-2 school years. In general we tend to have fewer girls on our waitlist than boys, and we take a new cohort of kindergarteners each fall, so the wait for girls and kindergarteners is currently the shortest. Our goal is to be able to welcome everyone who wants to participate, but we are currently limited by meeting space and mentors. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to overcome these hurdles. While you wait, we strongly encourage you to check out our STEM Clubs!

How do you choose students off the waitlist?

When a spot becomes available, first we look at all the students on the waitlist who are eligible to fill it. (So all the 5th grade boys who requested Monday FLL, or all the 2nd grade girls interested in Explore, for example.)

Fostering community is a priority at Broomfield STEM, and we do our best to include all family members that want to be included so that participation can be a family affair. So, if any current Broomfield STEM mentors or regular volunteers have an eligible student on the waitlist, they get top priority. The next priority goes to the eligible siblings of our FTC students, followed by the siblings of our FLL-Challenge Teams students, then siblings of our FLL-Explore students, and then our Discover Bot students.

Broomfield STEM is partially funded by grants and sponsorships, many of which have certain criteria that we need to meet. (For example students whose demographics are underrepresented in STEM fields, or students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.) Any eligible students that meet those criteria are offered spots off the waitlist next, followed by students in who participate in one or more of our clubs, students in good standing who have previously participated and want to return, and students who have attended any of our summer camps.

Finally, we track the date a student was first added to a Broomfield STEM waitlist, and offer the open spots to the students who have been on the waitlist the longest. No other information you provide will be used to determine whether or not your student is offered a spot, as we are committed to including everyone who wants to participate as soon as it is feasible.

How will I be notified when a spot becomes available for my student?

If a spot becomes available, we will notify you via email with instructions and a link to register your student. Please add broomfieldstem.org to your safe list and watch your email, especially in May when we begin to fill open spots for the following year and June-August when last minute shuffling tends to occur. In the unlikely event that a spot becomes available once a program has started for the year, we will follow up our email with a text or phone call to make sure you don’t miss it. In order to get all our spots filled by the time programs start, you may have as little as one week to register your student before we offer the spot to another student. We understand this is a short turnaround for a decision, and we appreciate your flexibility and quick response.

How do I remove my student from a waitlist?

We certainly understand that life, interests and schedules change. To remove your students from the waitlist, please email Bridget. Know that you will lose your place in line if you choose to do this.

What happens if my student is offered a spot and we decline or don’t register or respond before the deadline?

If your student is offered a spot and you decline or don’t respond by the deadline, the spot will be offered to another student and your student will be removed from the waitlist. You are welcome to re-join the waitlist any time using the links on the website, but you will not keep your place in line.

What options are available to my student while we wait?

Students on the waitlist will get priority registration for our summer camps, STEM clubs and any other registration events we might offer during the year. We strongly recommend you take advantage of these fun, educational, non-competitive opportunities that teach many of the same basic skills covered in our robotics programs.

Who can I contact with additional questions about registration or waitlists?

Bridget Engel, our Administrative Assistant, will be happy to help you with any other questions you might have. She can be reached by leaving a message at 720-248-7309, or by email. As with all of our volunteers and staff, please allow 24-48 hours for a response.