
Hands-on learning makes an impact
Imagine if you took a fifth grade classroom and literally “immersed” it into the Putnam for one week. The teacher and students would have access to all the tools, resources and exhibits the Putnam has to offer, supporting a unique lesson plan for the week.
Imagine no more, because that’s exactly what the Putnam Education Department did with
IMMERSE!
IMMERSE is in the midst of its third full year, and is making a difference. For example, 95% of teachers report it increased the impact of their teaching.
BRIDGING the 'learning gap'
DID YOU KNOW: Children living in low-income settings receive 6,000 fewer enrichment hours than children from well-resourced households by the time they reach sixth grade. This puts young people at a disadvantage — leading to a lifetime of lost opportunities.
a drive to achieve
IMMERSE provides mostly low-income students (at least 80% from Title I schools), as well as teachers, with unique, extended opportunities to delve deeply into their coursework with the Putnam’s resources infused into their regular curriculum as they attended school here for a week.
During IMMERSE's 2017 pilot, five Davenport Community School District classrooms (Grade 5) and three East Moline School District classrooms (Grades 3 and 4) studied at the Putnam thanks to funds from The Hubbell-Waterman Foundation.
This year, IMMERSE is set to host 30 classes of students from the Davenport, East Moline and Rock Island-Milan school districts.

SPONSOR AN IMMERSE CLASS
You can sponsor an educational experience of a lifetime.
Thank you to our 2019-20 funders