EVERETT, SEPT. 11: A family whose student was formally on Henry M. Jackson High’s robotics team claims that adult mentors would exclude students from hands-on learning, building the team’s robot themselves.
The claim, and the extensive back-and-forth between The Everett Public Schools District (EPS) and the student’s family, has led to the family spending nearly $500,000 on political campaigns to unseat the entire Everett School Board.
The recent claims have prompted EPS to investigate whether a robotics team coach built and benefited from award-winning robots.
“Everett Public Schools takes all formal complaints seriously and follows its policies and procedures to investigate them. The district remains committed to providing a safe, respectful, and supportive environment for all students, staff, and families,” an EPS spokesperson wrote in an email.
Recently, EPS sent a cease-and-desist letter to the family after district staff discovered that the family had “improperly reached out to current and past students for information regarding the robotics team,” EPS wrote.
In an email obtained by Everett Post, the family is offering up to $80,000 for evidence supporting their claim from current and previous students or mentors of the Jackson High robotics team.
The Student and How it started
Robin Lee (they/them) joined the Jackson High robotics team right after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. They were removed from the team two years later for not exemplifying the team’s code of conduct, according to a later investigation report.
Robin claims that during their time there, adult mentors would rarely let the students work on the robot, at times even working on it behind closed doors.
According to Robin, they believed that to get hands-on learning with the robot, they needed to be a “driver,” a highly sought-after position that controls the robot during competitions.
When they didn’t get the role, they were frustrated and hurt. In an investigation conducted later, the coach at the time tried to work with Robin and their family to find a suitable solution.
However, Robin only wanted the driver position. Soon after, they were removed from the team for “engaging in comments and actions that undermined the Robotics team,” according to the report.
Robin believes they were removed for a different reason.
“I was removed from the team for criticizing the way it [the robotics team] was run, mainly the fact that mentors and coaches built the robot,” Robin said to Everett Post.
The investigation report said that the coach and administrators concluded “that the removal from the team would be in the best interest of Robin Lee and the team…”
The First Investigation
The parents of Robin, the Lee’s, filed a tort claim (a legal claim made by an individual seeking legal responsibility for harm caused by another party) and an official complaint with the district thereafter.
The complaint in 2023 focused on the emotional distress the mentors and coaches caused Robin, as well as the improper removal of Robin from the team, it claimed.
“When the family did not get the results from the demands that their student be made robotics driver, they engaged in comments and actions to undermine the Robotics team,” the report said.
A policy-driven investigation was completed in early 2024. The investigation concluded there was no evidence of discrimination, retaliation, violations of protected speech, or defamation toward Robin Lee, EPS wrote.
The Lee’s declined to participate in the investigation, citing concerns for bias, and offered to pay for a private investigator themselves.
However, the district used a third-party investigator through its insurer, which assigns an attorney who then selects an independent third-party investigator, EPS wrote.
“There is no precedent for a family paying for a third-party investigation on behalf of the district, which would create an appearance of bias,” EPS wrote.
Now, the Lee’s claim that not only was the robot mainly built by adults to ensure that the robot excelled in competitions, but the robot’s success would then act as free advertising for a local robotics company, benefiting the owner.
FIRST is a global nonprofit that runs robotics competitions and provides a framework for a code of conduct for robotic programs.
Adult mentors and coaches are common to help aid the education process in FIRST programs. But the Lee’s claim that the adults became too hands-on.
Robin claims that students wouldn’t be able to answer questions about the robot at competitions.
“Students lead the design, build, and competition work,” EPS wrote. “Mentors provide guidance and ensure safety, which is standard practice in high school robotics programs across the country.”
The robot built by Mill Creek team 2910 won the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Texas in April of this year.
The robot received first place out of 3,700 teams from across the globe.
The Lee’s question the validity of the winning robot, calling on the district to strip the team of the title.
How the School Board is Involved
The Lee’s created five political action committees in June titled “Committee for Educational Integrity for Everett Public Schools School Board.”
“The goal of the committee is to inform voters about the school board’s negligence and corruption in dealing with a serious abuse of the public’s trust and misuse of taxpayer money,” Robin’s father, James Lee wrote in an email.
The district allocates approximately $63,000 per comprehensive high school for robotics clubs, EPS wrote.
Anna Marie Jackson Laurence, currently the only board member to be targeted by the campaign, said the attacks are designed to distract voters from the real issues facing students and educators.
“These attacks are not about improving schools — they’re about punishing board members,” Laurence said. “Leadership is measured by commitment to service above self, not by how much money you can spend on a campaign. We won’t let intimidation undermine our responsibility to the district.”
Laurence has been in the role for six months and is up for re-election in November.
Two other EPS board candidates condemned the political mailers in a statement, as did Tom Clarke, Laurence’s opponent.
The mailers prompt voters to elect Clarke, despite Clarke having no involvement in the mailers, and has requested that the Lee’s remove his name.
The Lee’s are adamant that the board is responsible for handling complaints. But the school district says that the board governs through policy.
“The School Board governs through policy. It is the responsibility of staff to administer related procedures, including conducting investigations when needed,” EPS wrote.
The Lee’s said that additional mailers opposing the rest of the school board candidates will be sent out before the election on Nov. 4.
Robotics Culture
The overall treatment that Robin experienced points to a larger concern within the culture of FIRST, the Lee’s said.
“It is not unusual for the top 1% schools to have adults work on robots to get farther in competitions. It is all one big open secret,” James said.
Robin Lee has created a website with the focus of student-first robotics learning, which currently has more than 4,000 members, according to the website. Robin has even shared updates on the situation through a blog on the website.
In the FIRST rule handbook, adult mentors and coaches are allowed to work on the robot.
“Mentor involvement followed national FIRST Robotics standards and supported, rather than marginalized, students,” EPS wrote.
But to what end, James said.
“This is not the first time someone has complained about it; we are just louder,” James said.
