Collaboration: World Communications Charter School

Spring 2016

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Check out our blog post on our visit to WCCS!

During their 7th grade year at World Communications Charter School, 36 students went on a journey with the organization Need in Deed to address problems they saw in their school and their communities. While getting to know each other throughout the first quarter, students identified a list of issues that mattered to each of them. In small groups, students created a presentation to prove that their issue was one that everyone in the class should care and learn about. For many reasons, both classes chose to focus on gun violence.

For the rest of the year, this group of 7th graders formed a community of learners. From researching gun violence in Philadelphia to experiencing stories of how and why gun violence occurs, these students gained a deeper understanding each and every day. They created murals to remember those that were lost, learned about the changing gun laws in Pennsylvania, and also offered support, as two of their classmates lost close family members due to gun violence this school year.

As the end of the school year neared, both classes decided a video was the best way to use what they had learned. By incorporating their own experiences of loss due to gun violence, alongside their newfound knowledge of the topic, this group of 7th graders became advocates for their communities, inspired to create change.