Each year thousands of students from the EL Education network take action on Better World Day to co-create a better world in partnership with their local communities, connect with each other, and celebrate meaningful student work. It’s a day where we get to experience school the way our students do every day: as a place where learning is the key to changing the world.
Relive the action by watching the opening and closing circles.
Better World Day is made possible by a generous gift from the Klingenstein Foundation made in honor of Lee P. Klingenstein (1927-2020). Lee Klingenstein, EL Education's Founding Chair, was deeply passionate about providing students with meaningful opportunities to contribute to their communities.
Join the conversation online using #BetterWorldDay and your message may be featured below. Happy sharing!
Congratulations to the five schools who were awarded the Better World Day Media Grants! Selected by the EL Education Student Advisory Council, these schools will work directly with the EL Education media shop to create high quality Better World Day media that will be featured at EL Education’s 2021 National Conference. The winning schools are:
Conway Elementary School, Escondido, CA: Fifth and sixth grade students will take action to promote equal rights in their own community by creating a community mural that depicts human rights issues, the fight for social justice, equal rights to all and a sense of pride for their school and community.
Elgin Math and Science Academy, Elgin, IL: Kindergarten through fifth grade students address racial inequities and advocate for antiracist philosophy with their public art project, “Stand Up Stumps.” Students share messages of unity and understanding on beautifully painted, repurposed tree stumps to be installed throughout their city.
Kenosha EL Education Schools, Kenosha, WI: Students from five EL Education schools in Kenosha partner to promote healing and growth in their city. Students explore and document the community artwork that sprung up after Jacob Blake was shot in their community, including messages of hope and unity.
Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning, Nevada City, CA: High school students serve and raise awareness with California Heritage Indigenous Research Project (www.chirpca.org), a non-profit in their town dedicated to researching, documenting and preserving the history and culture of the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe. Students engage in a virtual service project and weave the story of their work into a short video containing artwork inspired by the occupied land that they live, love, and work on.
Columbine Elementary School, Denver, CO: Elementary students raise the voices of Black Lives, Women, Indigenous, Students with Learning Differences and ALL Voices in their school and local community by creating a Better World Day mural depicting the story of Columbine and its surrounding neighborhood.
Detroit Prep, Detroit, MI
Elementary students create a mobile book hub that travels to students and families around the city of Detroit, providing access to literacy and delivering academic learning and social emotional support into the community. Third grade students lead efforts to spread awareness about the importance of the book mobile using their research during their cross-curricular expedition on The Right to Read: Equitable Access to Literacy.
Evergreen Community Charter School, Asheville, NC
Students lead a week long "Earth Week/Better World Day Celebration" for their entire school community with a focus on service and community building. Activities include an EL Trail clean up as "Watershed Warriors", creating a pollinator garden- an extension of their "Plant Communities" expedition, and projects in their school garden.
Kuumba Academy Charter School, Wilmington, DE
Students advocate for equitable resources in their community including safe places for children to play, after school programming, wellness centers, access to healthy food, mental health services, and a decrease in gun violence. If pandemic possible, scholars will lead a march to the city council government buildings to sit at the table with Legislators to express their concerns and come up with solutions.
Michigan City Area Schools District, Michigan City, IN
From leading a beach cleanup to supplying their community with free, healthy food to partnering with local organizations to uncover hidden histories, the Kindergarten through eight grade students in the Michigan City Area Schools District are taking on Better World day as a collective.
Sierra Expeditionary Learning School, Truckee, CA
Kindergarten through eighth grade students work with nearby public organizations including the local fire station, hospital, and library to express gratitude to frontline and essential workers with original artwork, cards, and flower pot gifts.
World of Inquiry #58, Rochester, NY
Students collaborate with a local artist to bring their vision for a Black Lives Matter mural at their school to life. From fundraising, planning, and working with the artist to creating a video documentary for the project, students work to showcase how Black Lives Matter every day, not only the month of February.
In 2020, thousands of students took action for Better World Day by creating videos, paintings, sidewalk chalk creations, letters, and cards of appreciation for those who were demonstrating courage and kindness by helping others during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic—and posting them on social media with #BetterWorldDay. Follow hashtag #BetterWorldDay here and across social media to see how students took action in communities around the country!
From homeless outreach and advocacy in Bemidji, Minnesota, to trail maintenance in Kettle Falls, Washington, students at EL Education partner schools made their mark on the world in 2019! Below is a peek at the student-led events, representing just a handful of the 100+ activities that took place across the country.
Students and communities posted updates across all social media channels with hashtag #BetterWorldDay.
Middle school students work to end hunger in their community by planting at two Brooklyn farm sites, stocking a local food pantry, and creating packages for area children experiencing homelessness for the Campaign Against Hunger.
Fifth-grade students at eight schools in the Detroit Community District are working to make literacy a civil right for their city. After studying The Universal Declaration of Human Rights through the EL Education K-5 Language Arts curriculum, they'll apply their knowledge to building and painting Little Free Libraries, hosting a book drive to stock them, and donating them to deserving local aid organizations.
Students from kindergarten through 8th grade conduct research, engage partners, and complete community-improvement projects to address the abandoned properties and disinvestment surrounding their school.
Tenth-graders advocate for humane and thoughtful treatment of the people living in a homeless encampment near their campus. Their "Power and Privilege" expedition culminates in students presenting a well-researched action plan to local agencies and to the community during an unveiling and donation drive.
Students lead a community-wide tree planting, starting on their own campus with a ceremony and celebration. Then, students spread out to other district communities to perform identical plantings throughout the region.
Students help clean up the polluted White River as part of an expedition titled "Sustaining Ecosystems," based on the EL Education Language Arts curriculum texts, "A World Without Fish" and "Flush."
Younger students beautify community spaces by creating seed pods, bird feeders, and decorative planters; older students work to combat flooding at a local park and help build a tiny house for a local person in need.
Older students partner with local organizations to address hunger and homelessness in Boston, while younger students create pollinator gardens at six sites in nearby Codman Square.
Students partner with the city of Kettle Falls, the National Park Service, and the Kettle Falls School District to complete service projects including trail maintenance, campground cleanup, and landscaping for the local library.
Elementary students help provide for local children in foster care by creating "Sweet Cases" filled with blankets, activities, and stuffed animals. Their collaboration with Together We Rise, a nonprofit for Foster Children, helps children going to new homes.
Students create first-aid kits for people experiencing homelessness as part of their expedition "How To Save a Life." This follows their study of CPR and first-aid training and research on how natural disasters and weather affects communities.
More than 50,000 students, educators, and community members, and counting! These citizens are stepping up to serve their communities. With so many involved in one day of service, imagine the impact 1,000,000 EL students have had every day throughout 25 years of "getting smart to do good."
Better World Day in Flint, Michigan: A Catalyst for Contribution (Subtitled) from EL Education on Vimeo.
Better World Day caught fire last year! See highlights of 2019 media coverage from across the country:
Better World Day in Portland, Maine: A Higher Purpose from EL Education on Vimeo.
