As of the 2016–2017 school year, John Dewey High School students participate in SING!, an annual student-run musical production which is exclusive to New York City public high schools. Team #333 Dewey's nationally ranked and award-winning robotics team, Team #333, also known as The Megalodons, has participated in various national and regional competitions. The team avidly participates in "FIRST Robotics," an international competition that attracts schools with robotics teams. The team has also been featured in various local newspapers, including the New York Daily News. Their efforts have resulted in beating some of the top high schools in the country and some of the specialized high schools in New York City, such as Brooklyn Tech and Stuyvesant High School. Their accomplishments have led to visits from the previous New York City school chancellor Dennis Walcott and astronaut Gregory Olsen. The team has also participated in the opening pitch for the Brooklyn Cyclones. The team originated as a small after-school club and gradually grew into a highly-selective program with its own classes and curriculum, and currently consists of over fifty members who work during and after school in an industrial arts shop located in the school. Sports For more than 30 years, Dewey did not have varsity sports teams. The lack of inter-school sports competition grew out of its educational design, meant to de-emphasize competition, winning and losing, and to encourage achievement for its own sake. However, the school has intramural athletic programs, in which students can play various sports for recreation. However, starting in the 2011–2012 school year, the school changed its stance on competition and competitive sports with other public high schools began, following a majority vote for it. It started with boys' and girls' soccer teams and girls' basketball, cross country, and cheerleading. The team name for all sports is The Dewey Dragons. Teams have expanded to include lacrosse, boys' and girls' softball, boys' and girls' tennis, and girls' volleyball. Student demographics Awards In 1999, John Dewey High School was one of ten schools nationwide to receive the 10th Annual Businessweek Award for Instructional Innovation for incorporating technology into the classroom. The award and grant of $1,500 was presented at Businessweek's annual conference in San Francisco. In 2000, John Dewey High School was named a New American High School for serving as a model for schools nationwide that have achieved high levels of success, and was showcased nationally