A veteran teacher translated gut instinct into a framework that reshaped her district’s approach to learning.
A veteran teacher translated gut instinct into a framework that reshaped her district’s approach to learning.
Sara Milewski
- STEAM Teacher
- Henderson Elementary School
- Madison, WI
Blazing a Path into Maker Learning
Long before “maker education” had a name, Sara Milewski rooted her teaching in hands-on, inquiry-driven learning.
When her school introduced a new exploratory program called REACH, she saw an opportunity to build something bigger: a makerspace.
“I felt like I was a pioneer,” Sara says, “not knowing what I was going to come across.”
Even without a roadmap, she could see the impact. Students were more engaged, attendance improved, and problem-solving skills began transferring into other areas of learning.
Putting Language to Instinct
Sara joined the inaugural Maker Educator Leadership Certificate cohort looking for ways to deepen and strengthen work she had already been doing for years.
“What the research shows matches what I was seeing in my classroom,” she says. The program helped her do something important: translate years of instinct and experience into a clear, research-informed vision she could share with others.
Through a values-identification exercise, Sara uncovered the motivating purpose behind her work: problem-solving.
“If a student has problem-solving,” she says, “they can do everything else.”
Sara later brought this process back to her colleagues, helping develop a shared set of learning pillars centered on collaboration, creativity, perseverance, student voice, and problem-solving.
Sara Milewski
- STEAM Teacher
- Henderson Elementary School
- Madison, WI
Through a values-identification exercise, Sara uncovered the motivating purpose behind her work: problem-solving.
“If a student has problem-solving,” she says, “they can do everything else.”
Sara later brought this process back to her colleagues, helping develop a shared set of learning pillars centered on collaboration, creativity, perseverance, student voice, and problem-solving.
Shaping Her District’s Approach to Learning
For her practicum project, Sara partnered with teachers across grade levels to identify ways students could demonstrate learning through hands-on, creative experiences connected directly to curriculum goals.
“We started finding ways for kids to demonstrate their learning using maker skills,” she says.
Today, Sara is helping shape not just how students learn, but how her entire school community defines learning itself.
“It stopped being just my program and started becoming part of the school culture.”
