AGU Fall Meeting 2025

During one week in May 2025, we, an English teacher, a math teacher, and a water data researcher, taught an 8th grade class of 16 public middle school students in Harlem, New York.

After an introductory lecture on water-related disasters, the students were organized into four groups of four, each working on a different topic: droughts, storm surges, tsunamis, and floods. In their English class, the students had to rely on key facts, quantities, or other math notions to describe the events (e.g., frequency, intensity, extent, number of casualties). In their math class, the students were exposed to authentic, interactive governmental data platforms: the drought monitor, NOAA’s historical hurricane tracks, or tsunami.gov. Before collecting data from these portals to build their own summary statistics and graphics (aligned with NYS Regents), the students had to use their literacy skills to make sense of definitions, find the correct information, or investigate the source of the data, effectively blending their English and Math skills throughout.

The students' investigation was guided by a poster template that reinforced definitions while encouraging emphasis on local relevance, disaster prevention, preparation and mitigation, and potential career paths. The posters were then presented during the yearly school-wide Water Fair, for which students presented to over 60 of their peers, gradually, over three hours.

While each teacher taught their own period and never had the opportunity to attend the other teacher’s class due to other teaching duties, the researcher took part in both, reinforcing the data and topic as the thread woven by the students projects. The teachers inquiring about their previous class led to a higher level of recall from the students, as the questions were genuine. The data experiences were authentic, while the poster presentations were not so different from an AGU poster session.

As we reflect on the experience, we realize that we have much to share, from the anecdotes and the challenges specific to this particular class, to the opportunities it presented. Most of all, we wish to share the doubts we have about lasting impacts, the level of flexibility it demanded from us, and the trust that we have for one another, anchored in our common aim to empower our students.

Andru, a student in a New York City public school surveyed his peers: 7 out of 8 them declared knowing where the tap water comes from, but, when asked, only one had the correct answer. This anecdote is confirmed by many of our observations: While Water in NYC is notoriously safe and tasty, it remains greatly unknown and untapped by many. Although the school's water fountains has led to a gradual greater consumption of tap water, water bottles or sodas remain common, including amongst the school's administration.

As researcher, teachers and student, we come together to propose a data-informed tap water curriculum that aims to empower our student body, staff, and community. Grounded in our respective cultural water heritage from Harlem, the Carribeans, West Africa, or Yemen, we explore the New York City water system through governmental water data platforms from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, USGS, or the Delaware River Basin Commision, to understand reservoir levels, risks of droughts, or current aqueduct repairs. NYC Public Health information on beach water quality together with the NYC tree maps help students make sense of combined sewage overflow reports. And water tanks inspection records with building-level information on lead piping likelihood support complex conversations on safe drinking, cooking, washing.

This emerging curriculum is anchored on the explorations of official governmental data platforms constitute an authentic data learning experience, and bridges with digital literacy and civic education. When combined with home and official testing kits, and safe tasting experiments, we may be able to provide the necessary resources for the community to make an informed choice for their water usage, an essential piece to reach water equity and water justice.