TAMPA, Fla. — While most Hillsborough County Students have been out of the classroom enjoying summer break, others have been working to win national awards.
Turner Bartlels K-8 School’s Technology Student Association is celebrating a first place at the 2024 National TSA Conference hosted in Orlando in June.
What You Need To Know
- Turner Bartlels K-8 School’s Technology Student Association is celebrating a first place at the 2024 National TSA Conference
- TBK8’s team of six students competed in the Parliamentary Procedure competition, which featured a mock board meeting that the students had to run
- Also, Wharton High School’s TSA team was awarded first place, and Middleton is celebrating its third place finish
- 2024 National TSA Conference Finalists
TBK8’s team of six students competed in the Chapter Team competition, which featured a mock board meeting that the students had to run following proper procedures.
The meetings resembled the same procedures that govern meetings of local city and county governments or business board meetings.
“In 6th grade when I first started it, it was a lot,” said 13-year-old Nathaniel Bostic, the team president. “It was, I like had to learn so much because there are so many components that go into parliamentary procedure.
“And if someone makes a mistake, you have to be able to adapt to that mistake, and be able to continue the meeting.”
Schools from across the country, along with international teams, competed in the event that is hosted by the Technical Student Association, which is part of STEM.
Nathaniel’s father, also named Nathaniel, is TBK8’s TSA advisor and instructor, and has worked to build the program over the past 9 years.
“Our classes, our programs are the reason some of these students are coming to school,” Bostic said. “It gives them something to do. It’s something they are interested in. I love TSA because it is so versatile with the middle school.
“We have about 34 different STEM-based events. In high school, there is about 38. I’ve always been able to find an event that can tailor to any student.”
TSA includes competition in robotics, video game design, writing, as well as parliamentary procedure and other categories.
TBK8 wasn’t the only school in the district celebrating a national championship.
When it comes to the high school Chapter Team competition, Wharton High School’s TSA team was awarded first place in the Chapter Team HS competition, and Middleton is celebrating its third place finish.
2024 National TSA Conference Finalists
Turner/Bartels K-8:
- Chapter Team MS - 1st Place
- Data Science and Analytics - 9th Place
- STEM Animation - 7th Place
Wharton High School:
- Chapter Team HS - 1st Place
- Technology Bowl HS - 4th Place
Middleton High School:
- Transportation Modeling HS - 8th Place
- Architectural Design HS - 7th Place
- Chapter Team HS - 3rd Place