Building a Culture of Trust in Middle School

In the Middle School at University School of Milwaukee, trust is built one letter at a time—literally. Earlier this year, Izzi Buikus, Middle School art teacher, created an installation in the division’s main lobby featuring large letters that spell the word trust.

After leading a short assembly with 5th through 8th grade students about what trust is, how it’s built, and why it matters, Buikus invited students to add written reflections describing moments of witnessed or experienced trust within our community, and drop them in the letters that spell out the word. Over the course of the school year, the installation became filled with notes that described instances of trust experienced at school. “During the assembly, I explained the idea that trust grows through small, everyday moments rather than single, grand gestures,” Buikus said. “Each note added throughout the school year represents a small moment that contributes to a larger culture of trust.”

Buikus chose the word trust intentionally, because it was the featured Common Trust value for the 2025-26 school year. The display of large letters placed in a central location is a visual representation of how trust is built day by day in the Middle School, and a reminder that trust should be lived, named, and practiced, and not just discussed.