 Since 2008, the NEA Foundation has partnered with AT&T to support innovative STEM projects for students in inner-city public schools. In Milwaukee, a program called the Urban Schools Aquaponics Initiative provides the students with a hands-on way of shared learning. This environment offers a unique opportunity for learning STEM curriculum as well as real-world responsibilities. All right, grab a seat, guys. We got a lot of work today. We need to get started. This is the end game, man. This is the fruits of our labor. For the past six months, we've been investing in our system. The point of farming is food production. Now we start getting a return on our investment. The program has been important for our students because it really gives them a chance to do some hands-on science learning to learn things that they can apply to real life. So learning where their food comes from, how food is raised, learning to respect the animals that we use for our food, and then having an actual product at the end that they can eat, that they can enjoy. So Aquaponics really allows us to do that hands-on part from start to finish. The program allows teachers to take a step back and really gives the students a sense of responsibility and independence while also requiring teamwork to keep the system going. Students are responsible for their systems such as planting seeds, raising fish, and harvesting, as well as being accountable to the community who depend on their fish and greens. Since he's been in the Aquaponics program, I've seen a difference in him. He's happy to go to class and happy to work with the plants and the fish. I think the Aquaponics program has really helped Jackson. It has given him a sense of responsibility. He gets up very early, many mornings, and gets himself to school. He's really interested in learning about the process of what they do in the greenhouse, and I think he's really enjoyed it. So we are making a delivery right now to a local restaurant. Tanuta's Italian restaurant is a locally-owned family-owned establishment here in our neighborhood. It gives us a sense of helping others, and it helps our school community because we have the reputation. It makes us feel good. The program teaches the students the importance of farming and healthy eating, and the skills that will prepare them for college readiness and life skills for the future. Since students of various ages are involved, student-to-student mentorship plays a big role in the system's success. We're here at the Bradley Tech Trojan Subshop today, seeing the students in action. Subshop was started about four years ago to give students an opportunity to work on job readiness and vocational skills. Beyond that, it's also probably the most effective team-building activity I've ever seen. What I think about aquaponics and the food I eat now, it makes me want to eat healthier because it just looks so good. We look at the experience more as a formative experience. They're just shaping themselves. They're shaping their attitudes. They're shaping their skills. They're gaining knowledge, and we're reaching for that deep understanding. And with a deep understanding, we're hoping that it becomes enduring. So it lasts a lifetime.