Six Brownsville students won't compete at a robotics world championship because of a scheduling conflict with STAAR testing.

Valentina Ramirez is a fifth grader at Harmony Science Academy in Brownsville. She's part of the Harmony Tigers robotics team that qualified for the 2026 VEX Robotics World Championship in Missouri after competing at a regional event in Edinburg.

The competition is set for April 25-27, the same days as STAAR testing.

Ramirez said she spent weeks getting ready for a win. Now she's dealing with a loss she didn't see coming.

"[I’m] really mad and sad and upset because we tried really hard on the competitions, and just hearing about it made us really upset," Ramirez said.

This was Ramirez's first year in robotics. 

The team spent weeks preparing. They stayed after school for about an hour building and coding their robot, earning a spot to advance to the championship.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson with Harmony Public Schools confirmed the team won’t be competing.

“STAAR testing dates are set by the state and come with specific administrative requirements that schools must follow. In this case, we were unable to adjust the testing schedule in a way that would allow the team to attend the out-of-state competition without conflicting with those requirements,” the district said. “We are incredibly proud of our students’ hard work and accomplishments and remain committed to supporting their success. We will continue to work closely with our campuses and program sponsors to plan ahead for future events and competitions.”

Ramirez's mother, Blanca Castillo, says the decision is upsetting.

"As a mom, I had to give her the news, and it did break me because she was very sad," Castillo said. “She was looking forward to this opportunity because it's once in a lifetime.”

Other Valley schools will still attend the robotics competition this month.

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