Education

Promotion of future skills in Cedarburg

Cedarburg is getting ready for the future: maker spaces, virtual reality and multimedia teaching concepts enable students and teachers to learn new skills that benefit their future.

North America

USA

Cedarburg

Funding period: 2019-2025

The explicit aim of the STEAM education initiative in Wisconsin, implemented by the Cedarburg Education Foundation (CEF) on behalf of the Cedarburg School District where WILO USA LLC is located, is to ignite young people’s passion in natural scientific, technological and creative subjects. STEAM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

From 2019 to 2022, the Wilo-Foundation supported the STEAM programme in participating schools (elementary, secondary and high schools), creating so-called maker spaces designed for age-appropriate experimenting (“physical making”). Starting with Rokenbok engineering and design systems in grade 4 and 5, students later participate in Lead the Way engineering courses as they enter grades 6-12. There are also courses on robotics, advanced manufacturing and construction for students in grades 6-12.

Arbeitsmaterialien für die Jugendlichen — Working materials for the young people that enable age-appropriate experimentation ("physical making"). Photo: Wilo-Foundation

Evi Hoch, Vorstandsmitglied der Wilo-Foundation, besucht das Robotics Field der Cedarburg High School — Evi Hoch visits the Robotics Field at Cedarburg High School. Photo: Cedarburg Education Foundation, Wisconsin, USA

From 2023 to 2025, the Wilo-Foundation will continue to support the initiative by providing funding for the visionary Cedarburg 3.0 – Digital Making project. The project enables students to strengthen their practical communication skills so they are well prepared for the diverse technological and creative demands of the digital era and learn how to produce news articles, reports and videos that are tailored to the target group. It is planned, for instance, to install a fully equipped recording studio where students can produce videos as well as podcasts and radio broadcasts.

The STEAM project also includes various other components, e.g. a training programme for teachers, the further development of curricula, studies and surveys, long-term planning, and various collaborative initiatives with businesses from the region and the Milwaukee School of Engineering and Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Photo Header: Cedarburg Education Foundation, Wisconsin, USA

Our funding partner

The Cedarburg Education Foundation is a non-profit corporation that was established in January of 2006. The CEF is a self-sustaining partner with schools and community and works to create educational excellence for the approx. 3,000 students in the Cedarburg School District. With the private funding it receives, the Cedarburg Education Foundation implements projects enabling children to improve their academic achievements and build skills for workforce readiness.

Development Goals

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forms the global framework for action for socially, economically and ecologically sustainable development. Our funding commitment also supports these sustainability goals. With this project, we are making a contribution to achieving the following SDGs:

What are the SDGs`?