NEW YORK — The students crowded around the rink, shouting encouragement at the robots racing to scoop up red- and blue-colored balls. As the scoreboard showed the clock winding down, the robots scooted to park in a designated spot for bonus points at the end of the round. The referee shouted out the score — 45 points for the blue team to red team’s 15 — and commanded the contestants, “Take your robots,” as the clock hit zero. The blue team cheered. The event was an annual robotics competition for Jewish students held by the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education (CIJE), a nonprofit that boosts science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs in Jewish day schools, as the field becomes more of a priority — and faces challenges — in the expanding Jewish school system. “They don’t realize that they’re learning because they’re having fun, but it’s so educational,” said Philip Brazil, the vice president of development at CIJE.…