Driving Question: How can we rethink education where students engage in the cultural, historic and civic amenities of Liberty and the greater KC area to deepen and extend their learning and provide purposeful experiences and focused reflection to discover knowledge, embrace skills and integrate values into their life?
As we have unpacked this driving question, we have identified three key areas to help us facilitate relevant learning experiences. We are excited to see this unfold this year.
SERVICE LEARNING IN COMMUNITY
Discover: Service learning teaches civic responsibility by integrating meaningful service into the learning process, empowering and inspiring students to be citizens and architects of a better world. Through their service-learning activities, students apply classroom knowledge in practical settings to deepen their understanding of significant content.
Embrace: Students gain academic knowledge and skills, interpersonal skills, and self confidence. Service-learning provides students with opportunities to develop communication and collaboration skills. They can also gain important experience working with diverse members of the community.
Integrate: Students may better understand themselves and know their gifts and talents as they explore and develop ways to contribute to their communities. They can develop self confidence and an enhanced commitment to serving others.
Resources:
Examples thus far this year:
- Studio 4 has identified non-profits that need help, and they are committed to advocating for these non-profits as change makers.
- Coming soon--Studio 5 will explore hunger within the community and how they can help.
COMMUNITY AS RESOURCE: EXPLORATORY, EXPERTS, CREATIVITY
Discover: Community as resource teaches students to explore their world around them and inquire about different topics and interests as it relates to the “real world.” It also gives students access to the world beyond the classroom so students learn relevance and usefulness of content both in and out of school. Moving beyond the classroom walls diversifies learning opportunities, connecting school with daily life and real problems.
Embrace: Students explore their own passions and interests and use the world around them to enhance the learning process.
Integrate: Students gain the experience of working with experts in the community. They develop a sense of self-efficacy as they pursue interests, work with experts, and experience work in the real world.
Resources:
Examples thus far this year:
- Butterfly garden experts for Studio 2
- Chefs and other visitors on STEM careers in Studio 5
- KMBC anchor for Studio 1 Recess Report and broadcasting skills
COMMUNITY IN PARTNERSHIP
Discover: Community in Partnership is an action-based approach, requiring students to partner with local businesses and act as consultants or freelancers, with the goal of framing a problem or opportunity, collecting data and research, providing and creating solutions, and possibly implementing ideas.
Embrace: Students infuse their passions and skills into the action-based approach, identifying gifts and talents within themselves as they grow and learn.
Integrate: Students learn transferrable skills such as literacy, collaboration, and communication, along with real life partnerships and real life work that is deeply embedded in customized significant content.
Resources:
Examples thus far this year:
- Studio 3 explored the water crisis in the world and, as a result of their awareness, created works of art to sell and raise money for water.org
We believe learning goes beyond the four walls of school, into the community and that to best prepare our learners, it is important we create an educational experience to mirror the real world. We believe the development of communication skills through unique community partnerships provides students opportunities to learn transferable skills for college, career, and life readiness. Examples include first graders working with health experts to create a health calendar for the Liberty community (online), second graders creating a butterfly garden from neglected memorial garden in our community, third graders addressing the global water crisis by hosting a silent auction, fourth grader proposing design ideas for an empty building to revitalize Liberty Square, and fifth graders hosting an Empty Bowls evening to raise awareness about hunger in Clay County. 
As we navigate through the 21st century, there is an incredible sense of urgency to foster a culture of leaders who will continue developing our complex world. It is our responsibility and obligation to teach students the acquisition process of developing new ideas and redesigning existing ideas. We believe it is essential to empower creativity, equip learners and engage communities. We seek to develop and sustain a dynamic innovative culture for all those part of our EPiC journey. We are preparing learners for jobs not yet created and for an unknown future. If we build on the pillars of P21 skills, we are developing transferable skills that would be helpful in any industry. If we build on the strength of learners, we can help them apply their learning in any situation as they navigate an unknown future. And as we cultivate these skills and confidence within students, they will have the foresight and thought to help transform the world. 
Our success as a school is built upon the foundation of engaging key stakeholders, both in and outside the organization, and authentic processes that constructed the components of our building and learning environment. It is essential we continue to include these stakeholders in our conversations and work and share our story freely across all leaders and stakeholder groups. 
