As Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) and the City of Fremont resolve recent teacher contract disputes, we must ask: Are our students ready for the AI and robotics revolution reshaping our world? The next five years will see AI and robotics transform jobs in healthcare, infrastructure, and beyond. Fremont, a tech hub hosting companies like Tesla, must lead in preparing our youth.
FUSD’s recent contract agreement, offering a 5% salary increase and medical coverage, is a step forward but misses class size caps critical for personalized STEM education.
Currently, FUSD offers robotics through extracurricular programs like Fremont high school’s Firebots, which qualified for the 2025 FIRST Robotics World Championship, and Mattos Elementary’s Science Magnet, where students experience coding and robotics.
Yet, access is uneven, and dedicated AI courses are absent from the TK-12 curriculum. This gap risks leaving students unprepared for roles like AI specialists or robotics engineers, with global GDP projected to grow 10-15% by 2030 due to these technologies.
AI will automate many tasks such as manufacturing and logistics, while robotics will advance the medical fields and smart cities. Self-driving cars are here now merging AI and robotics. Healthcare will see AI-driven diagnostics, and creative fields will use AI as a co-creator.
Ethical challenges, like bias in AI systems, will demand informed professionals to ensure the proper use of AI and not its abuse. Fremont’s students must master these domains in order to prepare our students for future jobs.
I propose three steps:
Embed AI and Robotics in Curriculum: Mandate AI literacy and robotics courses from middle school, teaching coding, machine learning basics and ethics.
Support Teachers: Fund professional development through grants from tech firms or federal STEM programs, leveraging Fremont’s tech ecosystem. Cap class sizes at 20 to enable hands-on STEM learning.
Engage the Community: Host workshops to guide parents and students on ethical AI use, expanding efforts like the Fremont Robotics Academy’s mentorship.
I urge Fremont leaders, educators, and residents to make Fremont a model for preparing students to lead the next industrial revolution—which is here now.
COL. Brian A. Barlow (Rtd. US Army)
Fremont
