Teachers customize our standards-based curriculum by integrating four pillars of environmental education across all subjects and grades:

• Conservation,
• Preservation,
• Beautification, and
• Stewardship.

The school’s environmental focus brings nature into the classroom and turns nearby parks and preserves into learning laboratories where students can explore nature.

Starting in K4, students grow as caretakers and conservationists of Hawley Environmental School’s campus learning laboratories, including:

• Raised-bed, prairie, and pollinator gardens;
• Redeveloped schoolyard with outdoor classroom, grass kickball field, composting station, and more;
• Murals inspired by the school’s environmental focus, made by students, and assembled with recycled materials.

All Milwaukee Public Schools implement the Ambitious Instruction Plan and Common Core State Standards.

Common Core State Standards

The curriculum in Milwaukee Public Schools is based on Common Core State Standards. These standards were developed with teachers, school administrators, and experts to prepare all children for college and the workforce.

Ambitious Instruction Plan

The Milwaukee Public Schools Ambitious Instruction Plan recognizes and celebrates that our students come from many cultures and backgrounds. This plan focuses on high-quality, culturally appropriate teaching and learning. Our goal is to ensure that every student develops reading, writing, and math skills in ways that are meaningful to their individual life and experiences. Our staff works together to understand each learner, find appropriate ways to assess and improve their progress, and make sure that students can apply what they have learned in productive ways in school and in their community.

Math

Teachers use age-appropriate district-wide standards and assessments in every grade to help students accumulate mathematical knowledge and skills that prepare them for success in middle- and high-school. The student response is strong as Hawley Environmental School met academic expectations on its 2022-23 school report card.

Reading/Language Arts

Reading has always been a priority at Hawley Environmental School. Through our Comprehensive Literacy Plan, K4 through fifth-grade students receive reading, writing, and oral language instruction for 90 minutes a day. The student response is strong as Hawley Environmental School met academic expectations on its 2022-23 school report card.

Art, Music, and Physical Education

Weekly art, music, and physical education classes give students the opportunity to recharge busy brains and flex their creativity. The school’s ‘specials’ classes received a technological upgrade in 2023 with new sound equipment in our auditorium/gymnasium.

STEAM

Standards-based lessons in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) promote curiosity, discovery, communication, and perseverance. This STEAM approach brings arts-integrated workshops and an environmental focus – plant life, seasons, pollination – to students in every grade. Classrooms are equipped with the latest in educational technology and software.

Special Education

MPS serves all children with disabilities, including cognitive, physical, emotional, learning, hearing, vision, and speech disabilities. Hawley Environmental School’s special education teachers, regular education teachers, school social worker, school psychologist, school support teacher, and administration work together to meet students’ needs.

If you think your child has special education needs, ask your child’s teacher or principal for an evaluation. For general questions about special education or specialized services, please call (414) 874-8493, or learn more about Specialized Services.