SoLA Robotics Digital Learning Platform Launch

K-12 STEAM education

South LA South Bay Long Beach East LA Central LA County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit) LAUSD (select only if you have a district-wide partnership) City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit) Gateway Cities

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

In South LA, Watts, and neighborhoods across the city, thousands of young people are eager to explore robotics, but access remains unequal. SoLA Robotics has transformed lives through hands-on instruction, but we can’t physically be everywhere. Many schools lack STEM instructors, lab space, or reliable equipment. After-school programs often operate on shoestring budgets and can’t hire robotics coaches. As a result, far too many students, especially Black, Brown, and low-income youth, are left behind during the very years when exposure to tech can shape their confidence and aspirations. The opportunity gap widens, not from lack of interest, but from lack of access. We believe that place should never determine a child’s opportunity to discover, code, or compete. Every student deserves access to the tools of the future, and a pathway to participate, belong, and lead in tech.

We’re launching the SoLA Robotics Digital Platform—a scalable way to share our proven robotics and coding curriculum with schools and community programs across Los Angeles. This initiative will give educators and youth leaders everything they need to run our classes: pre-recorded lessons, live instruction options, robot kits, coding modules (block-based and Python), and facilitator training.
Most importantly, it connects students to something bigger: the chance to compete in our annual SoLA Youth Showdown, where hundreds of young people show their new knowledge through friendly competition.
The platform gives schools the flexibility to run programs at their own pace, with or without a SoLA Robotics coach in the room. Teachers and after-school staff can lead sessions with confidence, and students still experience the power of building, programming, and problem-solving.
It’s a simple idea with radical reach: If we can’t go everywhere in person, we’ll meet you online.
We’re not just teaching kids to build robots. We’re building pathways to college, careers, and community.

With a successful pilot year, Los Angeles will have a scalable model to bring robotics education to thousands of students annually, regardless of geography or staffing. In year one, we will launch the platform at 8–10 pilot schools and community centers, reaching over 600 students and 50 educators. These youth will gain access to hands-on robotics, coding, and a competition pathway previously out of reach. The platform will allow instructors to deliver instruction independently, removing long-standing barriers to high-quality STEM learning. By year three, SoLA Robotics can expand to serve 5,000+ students annually and train 200+ educators across LA County. This digital access will reduce equity gaps, boost STEM engagement, and create a more diverse and community-rooted tech pipeline in Los Angeles. We see a future where STEM education is no longer bound by budget, geography, or gatekeepers, but is something every LA student can own.