Claim 3

Atwater students are involved citizens - they are making their school, neighborhood and broader community a better place through their projects.

Authentic Learning Showcase

Each spring, students across Shorewood participate in a district-wide Celebration of Learning, the Authentic Learning Showcase. This event gathers a variety of students together to share high-quality products, as the result of expeditions (Core Practice 9), all with a greater purpose, to the broader Shorewood community. One product is chosen from each school, Atwater included, to be presented by the students through a live, on-stage presentation. Though only some projects are on display at the Showcase, Atwater students of all ages engage in the creation of products that directly impact their community. From the school, to our neighborhood, to the broader Milwaukee and global community, Atwater students apply content knowledge, learn about a need and do something about it.

Examples of students presenting at the Authentic Learning Showcase over the years. Going clockwise from the upper left: 6th grade students presenting on their human rights podcasts, 4th graders sharing their persuasive opinions papers written to local leaders, 1st and 2nd Multi Language Learners speaking to the audience about their expedition on learning and teaching others about local immigrants, and 5th grade students posing in front of their "Pieces of Me" expedition on personal identity.

6th Grade Agents of Change Project

One significant example of making the community better through their projects is this nationally recognized (by NPR) podcast on Black America from 6th grade students at Atwater. These students leverage their project to build community awareness of racial injustice.

This expedition on Human Rights is a significant undertaking for Atwater’s oldest Crew. After digging into the International Declaration of Human Rights, students divide into partnerships and choose a right to investigate. This document, used to communicate the intent of the project to families and the community, gives an explanation of the process and shares how, not only the product, but also the process, impacts many lives.

Listen to one of the podcasts by clicking on the image to the right.

3rd Grade- Storm the Drain Project

This project is deeply connected to Atwater students being involved citizens. After building content knowledge around water and plastics, students take on the lens of environmental scientists as they engage in local field work that focuses on trash in our waterways and Great Lakes. Students set up a booth at the local farmer’s market and share what they learn with local citizens (Core Practice 21). While sharing their learning, students have local community members sign up to adopt a storm drain, committing to keep the drain clean and clear of debris. The final product is a series of awareness posters that educate others on how their choices impacted the environment.

Junior Kindergarten (4K)

"We Know Our P.E.R.K.S." Expedition

This collaborative effort between a high school graphic design class and the JK students results in beautiful posters and postcards that educate others on how applying the PERKS character traits in different settings impacts the community.

This JK expedition on the PERKS supports students internalizing the meaning of Atwater’s character traits and sharing that with others to impact the greater Atwater community. After going through some background knowledge building, the JK students then interview Atwater students to see what the PERKS meant to them. They then distill this information into posters sharing explicit "looks like," "sounds like," "feels like" for various areas of the building, along with postcards that celebrate a child demonstrating a PERK, sent to families by staff (Core Practice 22). These character-based projects help our youngest students make the world a better place.

“Atwater is a good school. You can use your voice more than other schools. This school listens to your ideas.”

- Daelin, 5th grader

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