SHARP Literacy, Inc.

Mark Your Calendars! ?? Join us on Thursday, May 22 at @3rd Street Market Hall, for a night of food and fun! ???? Savor delicious small plates crafted by top Milwaukee chefs—all made with McDonald’s ingredients! Plus, enjoy exciting silent auction items and try your luck at our gift card wall. Don’t miss this unforgettable evening! ?? Lynda Kohler Mark Kass Jim Villa Peggy Williams-Smith

We are excited to welcome Dana Johnson to our Board of Directors! Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel

We are deeply grateful to the sponsors of the Interschool Design Challenge. Your generosity and support make this event—and our Code & Build program—possible, empowering young minds to learn, create, and innovate. Thank you to Fiserv and the Milwaukee Bucks, AO Smith, Associated Bank, Brady, Generac, Milwaukee Tool, Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell Automation, and the Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation. Thank you for making a difference! ???? Also a huge shoutout and heartfelt thank you to this year’s incredible Interschool Design Challenge volunteer judges! ???? Your time, expertise, and enthusiasm played a vital role in making this event a success. From evaluating innovative projects to offering encouragement and valuable feedback, your support truly made a difference in the students' experience. Thank you to Stephanie Brown of TMJ4 News, Angela Gilman, MS of the Milwaukee Bucks Inc., Derek Mosley, JD of Marquette University Law School, Ted Perry of Fox 6 Milwaukee, Nick Sullivan, CPA of BDO, and Stacy Zaja of Northwestern Mutual.

The 4th Annual Interschool Design Challenge at Fiserv Forum was a true celebration of creativity, innovation, and teamwork! Yesterday, 108 4th graders from 14 schools across Milwaukee and Waukesha came together to present their incredible projects — developed over 16 weeks in the Code & Build course.? From coding to prototyping to fine-tuning their presentation skills, these young innovators brought their bold ideas to life. The excitement was palpable as they presented their projects to celebrity judges—a moment of pride for everyone involved! With so many impressive projects, the judges faced a tough decision, requiring a last-minute deliberation between the top two teams who tied for 1st place. Congratulations to our top three teams ?? 1st Place – Cass Street School with Keeping Dogs Safe 2nd Place – Hadfield Elementary School with Health Headphones 3rd Place – Escuela Vieau with Relaxation Headphones The future is bright, and it starts with these brilliant minds! Waukesha School District Milwaukee Public Schools Brittany Lopez Naleid Lynda Kohler Tamela Smith Derek Mosley, JD Hmong American Peace Academy (HAPA) Stacy Zaja La Casa de Esperanza, Inc. Milwaukee Academy of Science Promise Bruce Fiserv Forum Milwaukee Bucks Inc.

Programming is underway for 5th grade SHARP students, who are excited to explore how electricity and circuits can enhance their coding skills with the Microbit! In this program, students dive into the world of mini circuits as they program the Microbit and participate in hands-on activities. They will learn to make a buzzer produce sounds, create LED sequences, and much more. Once they master these skills, students will apply what they have learned to design a project focused on transportation and safety. They can create a police car with functioning lights and sirens ??, a traffic light that changes and signals when it is safe for pedestrians to cross ??, or even an airplane landing strip ??! The possibilities are endless for our SHARP 5th grade students as they complete the Code and Circuit program.

In late February, SHARP school year and summer educators participated in our first "Art Educator Professional Development" session. Much like an apple nourishes the body, this session fueled educators with fresh ideas and creative inspiration! They explored how SHARP integrates the arts into workshops, learned best practices for teaching art regardless of their arts backgrounds, and discovered how the arts enhance our STEAM and tech-based learning models. Additionally, they got a sneak peek at our Summer Learning Program curriculum, channeling their inner artist by creating THREE art projects— including printmaking with real onions and apples to create unique patterns. ????

Thank you to the Bertrand Hopper Memorial Foundation and SHARP Board Member Randy Hopper for being amazing champions of our programs! For the past seven years, the Foundation has teamed up with the Marquette University athletes to help us score big with the Reading with the Golden Eagles Program. Throughout the school year, athletes from the MBB visit our classrooms to read with the students and inspire them to think about how a college degree can change their future. For every rebound made during a home game, the Bertrand Hopper Memorial Foundation generously donates to SHARP! Last week, we were thrilled to accept a slam dunk of a check for $10,000 at a Marquette Golden Eagles home game. Thank you to Randy and Marquette University for making such a powerful impact on our students!

Last month, Kluge’s (Milwaukee Public Schools) 3rd graders took their coding skills beyond the screen during their Educational Tour Experience at Discovery World! ?? In small groups, students programmed the LEGO Group Mindstorm EV3 robots to move and capture objects, reinforcing the real-world impact of coding. A huge thank you to Discovery World for helping our students put their SHARP programming into motion!

We’re excited to share that SHARP will be joining the BizTimes Media's Education Spotlight next Thursday, February 27, at the Italian Community Center! Over 40 schools and education-focused nonprofits will be there, along with a dynamic keynote featuring business and education leaders. Plus, there will be roundtable discussions with some of Milwaukee's most influential voices—including our very own CEO & President, Lynda Kohler. Don’t miss out—get all the details here: www.biztimes.com/mkeedu

We still have one big thank you left for Unwrapped Waukesha — and it goes to the amazing Lori Fredrich! Not only did she serve as our fearless Emcee, but she also donated a fabulous silent auction package (a copy of her book, spices from PS Seasonings, a hand-carved cheese board, and a $150 gift card to Story Hill BKC). She also signed copies of her Wisconsin Field to Fork: Farm Fresh Recipes from the Dairy State cookbook, and gave a portion of each book sale back to SHARP! Lori, we’re beyond grateful for your incredible generosity and support!