Inspiring the Future through Robotics and STEM!

Lutheran High School of San Antonio was named a 2026 Inspire the Future: FIRST® Recognition Program honoree for pioneering inclusive robotics and STEM access. 

Our school is only the second school in the state of Texas ever selected since the program expanded to include school recognition in 2024, and one of just 15 schools recognized worldwide in 2026.

Launched in 2022 by FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), the Inspire the Future Recognition Program was created to honor the educators and schools making an extraordinary impact on STEM access and opportunity. Each year, 15 educators and 15 schools are selected from nominations submitted by the global FIRST community. Since the program's inception, only two Texas educators have ever been recognized — making Lutheran High School's selection as a Texas school honoree a landmark achievement for San Antonio.

“Our FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics teams are the heart of this recognition, representing the very best of what happens when student talent meets opportunity,” said Andrew Eickstead, Head of School at Lutheran High School of San Antonio. “This achievement is a direct result of the incredible partnership between our dedicated parents and the school community, all rallying behind the vision of Andrew Schuetze. As our coach and engineering teacher, Andrew has shown us that robotics is about more than technical skill—it’s about a collaborative effort to build a more inclusive world.” 

Robotics That Reaches Everyone: FIRST Access & Kinetic Kids

What sets Lutheran High School apart is not just its competitive robotics teams — the school fields both a boys and a girls FTC team — but its deep commitment to making robotics accessible to students of all abilities.

For four seasons, Lutheran High School has partnered with Kinetic Kids — a San Antonio-based organization celebrating more than 30 years of providing sports and enrichment activities for students with special needs — to create FIRST Access robotics teams. FIRST in Texas’s FIRST Access program supports robotics teams composed of students with special needs, and Lutheran’s robotics students serve as one-on-one mentors throughout the experience.

Each spring, Lutheran students mentor multiple LEGO® robotics teams that compete at the annual FIRST Access event held at Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio in June. The school also fields a dedicated FTC FIRST Access team, guiding those students through the full regular FTC league season from September through February before preparing them for the Morgan’s Wonderland event as well. Lutheran students and their parents volunteer at the Morgan’s Wonderland event each year, turning the competition day into a true school-community celebration.

Engineering for Good: Special Olympics of Texas Partnership

For the past five years, Lutheran High School has partnered with Special Olympics of Texas and its FUNdamental Sports program. Robotics and engineering students have channeled their classroom skills into designing, building, and programming adaptive sports equipment used directly by Special Olympics athletes. Students have also volunteered at the Special Olympics Texas Summer Games every year for the past five years, extending their commitment from the workshop to the competition floor.

Connecting Classrooms to Careers: Industry Partnerships at Port San Antonio

Lutheran High School actively bridges its robotics and STEM programs to the broader San Antonio professional community, with a majority of that industry engagement centered at Port San Antonio — the city’s premier aerospace, technology, and innovation campus. School representatives and students participate in events associated with the Girl Scouts STEM Day, the Women in Robotics Chapter, and the SA Robotix meetup group — bringing students face-to-face with working engineers, technologists, and industry mentors and reinforcing the message that a STEM career is an achievable and exciting path.

Champion for Girls in Tech: NCWIT Aspirations in Computing

Lutheran High School has made it a campus-wide priority to encourage young women to pursue technology careers. Year after year, the school produces more NCWIT Aspirations in Computing award recipients than many similar-sized or even larger public high schools. In the current academic year alone, seven young women earned Rising Star, Honorable Mention, or Winner recognition at the local level — with the program having earned a national honorable mention in  prior years.

Lutheran High School of San Antonio joins nine other U.S. schools and five international institutions as a 2026 Inspire the Future honoree, recognized during Teacher Appreciation Week 2026 by FIRST.

For more information about Lutheran High School of San Antonio’s robotics and STEM programs, contact Andrew Eickstead at [email protected]

About Lutheran High School of San Antonio
Lutheran High School of San Antonio is a Christ-centered college preparatory high school committed to academic excellence and servant leadership. Its award-winning robotics and STEM programs serve students on campus and throughout the San Antonio community. 

About FIRST®
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Manchester, N.H., that designs accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in STEM. The Inspire the Future: FIRST Recognition Program celebrates educators and schools who exemplify STEM for Everyone™. More at firstinspires.org.
https://info.firstinspires.org/inspire-the-future
https://community.firstinspires.org/meet-the-2026-inspire-the-future-first-recognition-program-honorees

About Kinetic Kids
Kinetic Kids is a San Antonio-based nonprofit celebrating more than 30 years of providing sports, fitness, and recreational programs for children and young adults with special needs. More at kinetickidstx.org.

About Special Olympics of Texas
The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community. 
https://www.sotx.org/fs
https://www.sotx.org/blog-detail/to-lutheran-high-school-of-san-antonio-robotics-isn-t-just-about-building-machines-it-s-about-building-a-more-inclusive-world-18808067

About National Center for Women & Information Technology
The National Center for Women & Information Technology is a 501 nonprofit organization in Boulder, Colorado at the University of Colorado Boulder. The center works to increase participation of girls and women in computing. NCWIT was founded in 2004 by Lucinda Sanders, Dr. Telle Whitney, and Dr. Robert Schnabel. 
https://www.aspirations.org/award-programs/aic-high-school-award

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