Lamar Elementary

Rather than focusing on students “becoming” citizens, at Lamar we foster the social actions students can make today. Taking social action develops students’ awareness of the needs of others and increases social responsibility. Civic engagement can focus on the classroom, school or community level. The notion of community refers not only to Lamar’s neighborhood and city, but also to state and world. Whatever the target to make the world a better place, high-quality civic engagement opportunities enhance students’ academic as well as social/emotional engagement. Project-Based Learning is the instructional tool that enable Lamar teachers to support students’ civic engagement. Known as PBL, Project-Based Learning enables students to develop deep content knowledge, enduring understanding and skills by examining a real-world problem that relates to students’ experiences and/or community.