Whitman Middle School STEM Team Competes, Wins Special Award at Future City Nationals Competition

A team of four eighth grade STEM students at Whitman Middle School will go down in history as the first team in the Wauwatosa School District to attend the Future City Nationals Competition in Washington, D.C. Not only did this talented group of students attend Nationals, but the team called “South Peruca” (Pah-Roo-Cha) is also the first team in the District to win a special award while competing.  

The team, consisting of Keira G., Alaina K., Kaia K., and Lucy K., traveled to Washington D.C. with their STEM teachers, Ms. Leigh Knapp and Mr. Ryan DeValk. At Nationals, South Peruca won the award, “Mission Possible: Positively Impacting the Community” from the National Society of Black Engineers.  The award is given to the team whose Future City design promotes the best overall quality of life and demonstrates the greatest potential to positively impact the community for a sustainable future. South Peruca was the only team from Wisconsin to win an award. 

“This award, as well as the exciting opportunity to compete at a national level, is a testament to the hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence of our students and staff ,” stated Dr. Demond Means, Superintendent of the Wauwatosa School District. “I’m confident Keira, Alaina, Kaia and Lucy will continue to achieve great things in the future. Their success should serve as a source of inspiration for all of us.” 

In preparation for the competition, the team conducted research, designed and built a city model, prepared and practiced a presentation, and prepared responses for a question and answer session and special awards judging for their city that aligned with this year’s Future City theme, “Climate Change Challenge”.  South Peruca took second place at the regional competition held at MSOE in January. Although it is typical for only first place regional competitors to receive an invitation to the national competition, South Peruca was asked to compete because Whitman has placed either second or third in the region over the last four years, which allows an additional spot to be offered within a region.

To learn more about the Future City competition, please click here.