08/28/2026
In honor of National Water Quality Month in August, here is a glimpse into one of the largest interdisciplinary projects our middle schoolers undertake.
Across Global Studies, English, and Science, our 6th graders explore the world water crisis.
To reinforce its immense scale and diversity, the first-floor lobby is transformed into a giant walkable map of Africa where students place key geographic features and learn about population distribution. From there, they examine the region's clean water crisis and broaden their focus to global water quality, eventually developing business plans to support the Georgie Badiel Foundation’s mission to build community water projects in Burkina Faso.
Hands-on learning continues across subjects: in Science, students conduct water testing in the Rouge River watershed, while in English, students explore a curated selection of novels that highlight the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of the most prevalent being access to clean water. After diving into these global themes, they developed original research questions and analyzed the real-world connections found within the literature. To showcase their learning, students wrote, recorded, and produced original podcast episodes right here in our DCDS Studios!
The students also engaged in a water walk, where they walked over a mile with buckets of water to build empathy for the millions of people worldwide who lack access to clean water near home.
And this year, the students got a special treat: they were able to have a virtual Q&A session with Georgie Badiel Liberty herself, the author and inspiration behind The Water Princess and founder of the Georgie Badiel Foundation.
