Inside the Future City High School Info Session: What Coaches and Students Need to Know
Future City High School kicked off its new season with a live info session, and if you missed it (or just want the highlights without scrubbing through a recording), here’s your recap. The program’s coordinator walked attendees through this year’s theme, team structure, deliverables, resources, and a lively Q&A. Here’s everything you need to know to get a team registered and off the ground.
You can find the slide deck here!
What Is Future City High School?
Future City challenges student teams to design a city that exists 100 years in the future, built around an annual sustainability theme. This year’s theme is “Fire Resilient Future” — teams will design a resilient city that can prevent, protect, and recover from urban wildfires.
Team Structure
- 3–5 students, grades 9–12
- One adult coach per team — this can be a teacher, a parent, an engineer, or any STEM professional
- Coaches can lead multiple teams
- There are no regional divisions — every team competes against teams worldwide
The Deliverables
Teams work toward a handful of core deliverables across the season:
- A 2,000-word research essay, which must include an interview with a STEM professional (a great excuse to connect with someone in your community)
- A digital city model built in Revit — free Autodesk software
- A project plan to keep the team on track
- A video walkthrough of the city model with voiceover narration, submitted alongside the model
Timeline
- Virtual qualification round: January 8–18, 2027
- Top 20 teams advance to finals in Washington, DC: February 13–17, 2027 (in person, during Engineers Week)
- Team registration deadline: October 31, 2026
Program Resources
Registered teams get access to a growing toolkit:
- A newly launched program handbook with rules, rubrics, research tips, and guidance on the engineering design process
- A theme webinar (September 30) featuring industry leaders
- Monthly coaches calls starting in August
- Revit tutorials and a dedicated Revit webinar with experts
- A mentor panel of three STEM professionals plus a Future City alum, offering technical guidance and career insight through webinars
- A brand-new online community on Discourse — a secure, moderated space for coaches and students to connect with each other and the mentor panel (optional, but encouraged)
Why It Matters: Student Outcomes
The program isn’t just about building a model city — it’s about building transferable skills:
- 91% of coaches say Future City helped students learn to use engineering to solve real-world problems
- 85% of students say the program gave them a place where they felt like they belonged
Students walk away with experience in technical writing, public speaking, teamwork, time management, and the engineering design process — skills coaches consistently describe as directly transferable to future careers.
A nice reminder for prospective coaches: any teacher can lead a team. English teachers bring technical writing chops, history/civics teachers connect naturally to urban planning, and STEM teachers bring the engineering foundation. There’s a role for almost any background.
Awards
Top teams compete for meaningful cash prizes and scholarships (funded by NCES and Farmers Insurance):
| Placement | Scholarship (per student) | Cash Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| 2nd | $7,500 | $14,000 |
| 3rd | $3,000 | $7,000 |
Participation Levels & Cost
- Competition Access — $375/team: full access to resources plus eligibility to submit deliverables for judging, scoring, and prizes/scholarships
- Program Access — $300/team: access to all resources and guides, without deliverable submission (can upgrade later for a fee)
Next Steps for Coaches and Students
- Choose a participation level and register your team
- Recruit your 3–5 students
- Dive into the handbook early — it’s dense but essential
- Join the optional monthly coaches calls
- Students can create their own accounts under the registered team, making it possible to run a fully student-led team
Key Takeaways
- Theme: Fire Resilient Future — design a city that can prevent, protect, and recover from wildfires
- Registration deadline: October 31 (for both team and student rosters)
- Core deliverables: a 2,000-word essay with a STEM interview, a Revit city model, a project plan, and a narrated model walkthrough video
- Finals: Top 20 teams present in Washington, DC, February 13–17
- Any adult — teacher, parent, or STEM professional — can coach, and any teacher regardless of subject can lead a team
- New this year: an official online Discourse community connecting teams with each other and the mentor panel
- Cost: $300–$375 per team, with two access tiers depending on whether you want to compete for prizes
- Payment flexibility: credit card or invoice options are both available
- Coaching middle school doesn’t automatically carry over to high school — separate registration and separate (though related) handbooks apply
Questions?
Reach out to futurecity@discovere.org, or watch for the recording and slide deck.