How Local Support Helped Bring Robotics Back to Crestwood

Crestwood Street STEAM Magnet’s robotics program went dark during COVID.

Like many school programs, it did not come back all at once. When robotics finally returned to campus, it was only available to 5th grade students.

Principal Diana Zarro knew the program could do more.

At a STEAM Magnet school, robotics is not just an extracurricular activity. It is a hands-on way for students to learn engineering, teamwork, problem-solving, design thinking, and persistence. It gives students a chance to build something, test it, fail, adjust, and try again.

That is exactly the kind of learning students need more of.

So Principal Zarro applied to the San Pedro Education Foundation with a clear vision: better equipment, more students, and a robotics program built to last.

SPEF was able to step in and help make that happen.

With new VEX IQ competition kits and equipment, Crestwood now has a practice robot for the workshop and a competition robot for the floor. That may sound like a small detail, but for students, it changes the entire experience.

They are not just watching.
They are building.
They are testing.
They are competing.
They are learning by doing.

And for the first time, 4th grade students are now in the room alongside 5th graders.

That matters.

The earlier students are introduced to programs like robotics, the more time they have to develop confidence, technical skills, and curiosity. It also gives older students a chance to lead.

At Crestwood, the 5th graders are already mentoring the younger students. They are teaching them how to build, how to problem-solve, and how to compete.

That is the kind of ripple effect SPEF wants to help create across San Pedro schools.

One grant does not solve every need. But it can help a strong program grow. It can help a principal say yes to more students. It can give a classroom the tools it needs to turn an idea into something real.

For Crestwood, the next goal is already clear: bring 3rd grade students into the robotics program — and continue building from there.

This is what local support looks like in real time.

It is not always flashy. Sometimes it looks like a classroom full of students huddled around a robot, learning how to make it work. Sometimes it looks like 5th graders becoming mentors. Sometimes it looks like a program that almost disappeared becoming stronger than it was before.

This is the work SPEF is helping build across San Pedro schools.

Not all at once.

But school by school.
Classroom by classroom.
Opportunity by opportunity.