What Teachers are Saying About Rocket Drones
Kimberly O’Dell is a 22-year STEM teacher at South Clinton Elementary School in Clinton City Schools. In this educator testimonial, she describes three distinct outcomes she has observed while running a classroom drone program with her students. Her review carries weight because it comes from long classroom experience, not first impressions. She speaks directly to what changed for girls in STEM participation, how the drone team shaped student behavior, and why the support structure behind the program mattered. What follows is a factual summary of what she says and what those outcomes looked like in practice.
How separate practice sessions changed the girls’ trajectory
Kimberly noticed that some girls were hesitant to compete with the boys for access to the controllers at the start of the program. In response, she ran early practice sessions separately for girls and for boys so the girls could learn without performance comparison. That structural change gave them room to build confidence before stepping into shared flight time. She describes the shift clearly: the same students who had held back began putting down the controller and saying, “And that’s how it’s done.” In her account, girls in STEM drone education worked because the design of the learning environment supported ownership, not because students were merely given access to the technology.
The drone team as a self-directed behavior intervention
Kimberly also describes how the drone team became a meaningful behavior incentive for one student who wanted to participate. The student had struggled with classroom conduct, and she gave him a direct choice: he could continue that behavior or he could be on the drone team, but he could not do both. According to Kimberly, the student internalized that decision and later told her it changed everything. Instead of relying on repeated correction, the team gave the student something he wanted to protect through his own choices. Other teachers across the school noticed the improvement, which made the drone team more than an extracurricular activity in this case; it became a positive, self-directed behavior intervention.
The teacher-grade support that makes a drones for schools program sustainable
Kimberly’s strongest product-level review is about support. After 22 years of teaching and working with many education companies, she calls Rocket Drones “the best technical support I have ever experienced.” She points to several specific reasons for that conclusion: live response through FaceTime, Google Meet, and Zoom rather than waiting in a support queue; comprehensive video resources and written manuals; on-site coach training in her area; in-class student instruction during repair work; and a coach collaboration platform that connects teachers across schools. In her description, that support layer is what turns a drones for schools program from an equipment purchase into a sustainable program educators can continue to run, expand, and improve over time.
Kimberly’s testimonial points to a broader pathway, not an isolated moment. The outcomes she describes were supported by a complete drone curriculum partner that gave her students room to grow and gave educators the operational support needed to keep the program moving. Her recommendation is grounded in classroom reality, including student confidence, behavior improvement, and day-to-day implementation. For educators evaluating drone programs for schools, her review suggests that Rocket Drones should be judged not only by the equipment students use, but by the program structure and support system that make long-term results possible.
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Separate practice sessions changed girls' confidence and ownership in drone learning
Kimberly O'Dell identified a specific barrier early: girls were hesitant to compete with boys for controller time. She addressed that barrier by running separate practice sessions first, which gave the girls space to learn without comparison. The result was visible confidence and stronger ownership during shared flight time. Her experience shows that girls' progress in a classroom drone curriculum often depends on program structure, not interest alone.
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The drone team became a behavior incentive students chose to protect
For one student, being on the drone team became valuable enough to influence classroom decisions. Kimberly framed team membership as a choice tied directly to conduct, and the student adopted that standard as his own. He told her the change in framing altered his behavior. The improvement was noticeable beyond her classroom, which shows how a student team can function as a self-directed behavior support within a school setting.
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Teacher-grade support separates a program from a one-time equipment purchase
Kimberly's review of support is anchored in 22 years of teaching experience. She does not describe generic customer service; she describes live troubleshooting, detailed manuals, on-site coach training, student repair instruction, and teacher collaboration across schools. Those pieces reduce implementation friction and help educators sustain a program over time. Her account makes a clear distinction between receiving equipment and receiving the operational support needed for a lasting classroom drone program.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are drone programs for schools?
How do drone programs help girls in STEM?
How can a school drone team support classroom behavior?
What kind of support should teachers expect from a drone program for schools?
How do classroom drone kits and racing drone kits fit together in a school drone program?
Speaker: Kimberly O'Dell (STEM Teacher, South Clinton Elementary School, Clinton City Schools)
So we are at South Clinton Elementary School. My name is Kimberly O'Dell, and I teach STEM here for Clinton City Schools.
There was some interest to begin with, and then there was a little hesitation too from some of our students. Specifically, I wanted to push girls a little bit more into some STEM careers. I noticed that at first the girls were really hesitant with the guys, so in the beginning I actually did some practice sessions with only girls and then with only guys, just so the girls wouldn't be so nervous. But once they got in and learned how to use it, you started seeing the girls go from hesitant to putting down the remote and saying things like, "And that's how it's done." That was just a joy for me to see — these girls realizing they can do this.
We've had a couple of students where behaviors and things at school could get in the way of a sport, but they really wanted to be on the drone team. With one specific student, I told him, "You can do this behavior or you can be on the drone team, but you can't do both." And he's told me that changed everything, because he really, really wants to be on the team. So now, whenever he's about to do something, he thinks, "I can do this or I can be on the team, but I can't do both." The teachers have been pretty happy with that, because he's behaving so much better.
Rocket Drones support has been the best technical support I have ever experienced. I've been teaching for 22 years, I've worked with a lot of different companies, and I have never experienced the level of support that we have from them. Whenever we send an email or ask for a meeting, they're quick to set up a Google Meet or Zoom. They have all kinds of technical support videos out there, manuals out there. A lot of times I've thought of everything I could think of that I would need, and it's like they've already thought about it and made it convenient. I've never experienced this level of support before.
Even today, the Rocket Drones team came out to our area and invited all the coaches so they could have some training — on flight, on the product, on all the different pieces — and answer any questions. That's been great. And today, when we had some problems with some of our drones, they sat down with the students and started teaching the kids how to rebuild drones, which was pretty neat for the kids too.
If you want to get into drones, I would highly recommend Rocket Drones. There's also a way on their platform for coaches to interact together, which I think, as a teacher, would be big for me — it's easier if you can talk to someone else who's also starting out and just have that collaboration piece between the teams. So if you do decide to join, send me an email and let's get our teams together.
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