Atwater
Elementary
An EL Education School
An EL Education School
As told by Atwater Principal, Nate Schultz, Spring of 2021
This year is truly unprecedented in the world of education. From emergency virtual learning in the spring of 2020, to physical distancing protocols in the fall, our schools are having to navigate a pandemic world full of trauma. Many people ask me, “why would you sign up to be a principal NOW?” Or, the reaction I get when I say I’m a new principal is... “well, talk about trial by fire.” Yes, this year is tough, but there’s one clear reason why I do this work and why I decided to take on this challenge, and it’s because of this school - Atwater Elementary.
Atwater Elementary, one of two public elementary schools in Shorewood, WI, is the reason why I moved into administration in the crazy year of 2020. The history, the people, the commitment to authentic learning through a partnership with EL Education, and the amazing growth and dedication to student needs all make Atwater a great place to lead, to learn and to love.
Atwater Elementary opened its doors on September 7th, 1915 to all K-8 students in Shorewood. With the rising population of Shorewood happening quickly, Atwater became overcrowded almost immediately. With the addition of Lake Bluff Elementary and eventually Shorewood High School in 1925, Atwater’s population decreased and eventually settled into the K-6 school of today.
Shorewood, WI has a proud, long-standing tradition of public education. Currently serving over 1800 students, Shorewood schools has four buildings, two elementary, one intermediate and one high school. Atwater, though the oldest school in the district, is undergoing massive transformations, both physically and instructionally. Currently under renovation, we are excited to be updating our building to accommodate students and community members of all physical abilities, provide larger classroom instructional space and enhance security features. Check out this tour of the exciting updates.
Though our history is long and our building is historic, what makes Atwater truly special are the people. Atwater is currently serving the academic, social and emotional needs of 439 students, ranging from 4-year old kindergarten to 6th grade. Our students here at Atwater are a diverse representation of our community. A full breakdown of the last several years of our school and district demographics can be found here, and see the data table below for 2018-2019 student enrollment data. To see some of our amazing students, check out this video of Atwater students sharing more about our Habits of Scholarship and Habits of Character, the PERKS.
In 2015 (exactly 100 years after Atwater first opened its doors), the Shorewood community participated in a visioning summit for the school district. Led by our School Board and district leadership, a group of over 100 community members, students, faculty and alumni participated in a multi-day workshop to set a 10-year vision for the schools. The number one priority coming out of the 2025 visioning summit was to create more authentic learning experiences and opportunities for all students in Shorewood.
Simultaneously, a group of interested Shorewood teachers began to use more resources from a visionary, educational non-profit organization - Expeditionary Learning. Seeing the value in the resources and the work of the organization, these teachers approached building and district leadership to explore a partnership between our schools and EL.
The partnership could not have gone better for Atwater School. It’s because of our relationship with EL that Atwater has been making good on its commitment to create authentic learning opportunities for all Atwater students. The Three Dimensions of Student Achievement were exactly what our community was looking for: academic excellence and growth for all students, the integration of character education into our programming and the creation of high-quality work by students. Half-way towards our 2025 Vision, the Atwater community is thrilled to be at a point in which we can apply for credentialing with EL. It is because of EL that we are leading the charge for authentic learning in our community.
Though our staff and students have now embraced the magic that comes with being a network EL school, the road to achieve success has not been without challenges. Over the last few years, we have walked the fine line necessary to achieve the success and growth we have as a school.
Our partnership with EL began in the 15/16 school year with a cautious enthusiasm for something new and exciting. Building leadership, both the principal at the time as well as the instructional leadership team (ILT), were not only learning about best practices through EL themselves, but were also leading through a culture shift for the building. Our staff are committed to student needs, but, understandably, were hesitant to make change without knowing what that change will bring. Early on, work needed to be done to create a culture of growth mindset among our students, but also our staff. Through the creation of our habits of scholarship and character (what we here at Atwater call the PERKS), our building began to form a sense of identity and pride, unlike we had before. Instead of unspecified behavioral expectations, our students, staff and families had a set standard of what it means to be a member of the Atwater community. Today, the PERKS are alive and well everywhere - from posters in the hallways, to morning Crew meeting targets, the PERKS banner hanging in the cafeteria - we live by the PERKS day in, and day out.
At the same time, Atwater also embraced the 10 Design Principles. In collaboration with the PERKS, the Design Principles became our guiding structure for developing Crew and character opportunities for our students. Rotating through, each month of the school year we highlight a different principle.
As we were beginning to better understand and meet student needs, embracing character education as well as key, foundational instructional techniques like learning targets and checking for understanding, a huge piece in our growth and success here at Atwater was also meeting the growth and development of the staff.
Throughout our first two years in partnership with EL, our staff was committed, but tired. Change is hard and takes a lot of energy. By the end of our second year in partnership, our staff was beginning to question the sustainability of working toward our goal of authentic learning by 2020 and the implementation of best practices through our partnership with EL Education. The leadership in the building needed to respond.
To support staff in their growth and development, without creating more burnout, the ILT, building leader and EL school designer made significant changes to our work plan and professional development structure. By creating a streamlined work plan, with direct connection to district goals, we reduced the sheer number of initiatives in the building from multiple targets in each dimension to a key few, targeted, essential outcomes for student progress. Then, to support teacher professional development, we restructured our professional development model. Thanks to an inspirational session at the regional cohort meeting, the Shorewood PD cycle was created and implemented with great success. By focusing staff energy on high-leverage, research-based best practices, and providing adequate time, support and resources to achieve said targets, our staff was re-engaged in the work. And it shows. Our Implementation Review (IR) Score made significant gains because our staff was focused and felt as if their work and time were both valued.
Project-based, community connected education has been integrated into all areas of Atwater. Not only are students participating in expeditions and case studies in every general education classroom throughout the building, but in other areas as well. Our strong arts program (general music, visual arts, band and orchestra) have all incorporated authentic learning into their programming, as well as our 4th-6th grade Spanish teacher. Today, Atwater Elementary carries the torch for authentic learning in the district.
Although Atwater is proud of the work it’s done for meeting student needs, we also recognize, like other educational institutions, there has been a history of marginalization among our student populations. Looking forward, the District of Shorewood and the Atwater community are committed to disrupting the inequitable systems we’ve both inherited and created.
In the 18/19 school year, our staff began to develop mission and vision statements to guide our work. Working through multiple leader transitions (now on the third principal in three years), the vision and mission statements were finished this fall, with a clear commitment to student growth and excellence for all.
The vision and mission statements below were written to honor the work and culture that’s come before us here at Atwater, but to also set a path of change for equity for all. As a staff, we have started to work through Integrated Comprehensive Systems for Equity (ICS) school based modules. Over a 3 year period, these lessons and supports will guide our staff in a variety of equity practices, from examining our own biases to recreating equitable systems. We are excited to work with EL Education in partnership toward achieving our vision for all Atwater students.
As an institution, Atwater has some long standing traditions. Our partnership with EL Education has truly enhanced and highlighted many aspects of what has made Atwater special for many years. But our commitment to authentic learning and collaboration with EL has also inspired our staff and students to do even more. Our students are pushing themselves to be successful learners and ethical people every day. Our staff are constantly looking for better anti-biased instructional methods and engagement strategies, especially in this time of virtual learning. Our leaders are continuing to develop a shared ownership and leadership structure throughout the building.
We’ve come a long way over the last 100+ years, but have much more work to do. I’m proud to have signed up for this challenging role in an extremely challenging time, and to do this work with the Atwater community. A community of engaged learners, committed families and dedicated teachers.
That is Atwater. We are Atwater. And We are Crew.