Since establishing the Uptown Partnership, named for a nearby neighborhood, Latin School of Chicago’s teachers seek opportunities to develop meaningful connections that help students learn, enhance their empathy, and develop perspective. One example is an artistic collaboration between two groups of third graders—one from Brenda Friedman’s class at Latin, the other from Sabrina Severns’ class at Courtenay Language Arts School—who all get together at Latin to learn about Louis Sullivan, one of their city’s renowned architects.

They study and view pictures of famous buildings in their city, including the old Chicago Stock Exchange and the Sullivan-designed Auditorium Building, discovering the buildings’ initial purposes and design features. Since many of his projects are no longer standing, they also learn about historic preservation and discuss the missteps of tearing down these masterpieces.

Together, they make square relief clay tile ornaments in Sullivan’s style, using an array of tools to complete their creations. The eight-step process provides opportunities to help each other—perhaps holding the canvas mat for a nearby student who’s rolling out a slab of clay, or sharing the templates to cut out the squares.

For the past two years, the students have reunited as fourth graders to watch the movie “Hugo,” based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which both classes have read. “Meeting up with a friend from the year before is a highlight for them,” says Ms. Friedman, “and one of our goals is to keep the relationships going.” Third grader Theo agrees. “It’s fun to meet new people from another school and talk to them about art.”