School Business Partnerships of Long Island DBA SBPLI - LI FIRST Robotics

School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI, Inc.) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1984 establishing programs which link high schools and businesses throughout Long Island.

Our vision is to create an educated workforce for Long Island by opening the minds of students to career opportunities through a collaborative partnership of schools, businesses, community organizations and government. One way we do this is by putting on the FIRST Robotics programs for the Long Island region.

The FIRST Robotics Competition is a international program that challenges teams of students and their mentors to design and build a 130 pound robot in a six-week timeframe using a standard "kit of parts" and a common set of rules. Teams build robots from the parts and enter them in a series of robotics competitions designed by inventor extraordinaire Dean Kamen. The International Competition has grown to more than 2,500 teams from 16 countries competing in 58 Regional Events.

FIRST redefines winning for these students. Based upon developing team workskills, teams are rewarded for excellence in design, demonstrated team spirit, gracious professionalism, and ability to overcome obstacles. Scoring the most points is a secondary goal. They learn that it is the journey and not just winning that counts.

At the heart of the FIRST competition is the development of students' technological literacy by providing them with an opportunity to experience the technological design cycle, working shoulder-to-shoulder with engineers and other technical personnel. Students are engaged in every aspect of their robot's design and construction, applying scientific knowledge, solving problems, making decisions, communicating ideas, managing time and resources, overcoming challenges, and celebrating success.

SBPLI, Inc. also puts on the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and Jr. FIRST LEGO League (Jr. FLL) programs as well.  These programs reach over 100 teams of young students in elementary school (Jr. FLL) and middle school (FLL).

Please help inspire young minds to learn about science, technology, engineering and math by donating to SBPLI through a fundraiser listed below.

FIRST®, FIRST®Robotics Competition, FRC®, FIRST®Tech Challenge, and FTC®, are registered trademarks of FIRST®