Impactful Experiences

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In May 2023, HSF awarded an innovative grant to Ashley Jennings at Brown Middle School for her project, “Native Plants Garden.” This initiative created a calming and educational garden space for students, featuring traditional plants and techniques from local Native American tribes. Students were actively involved in planning, designing, implementing, and caring for the garden, using both technological tools and traditional gardening methods.

This grant not only provides Brown Middle School with a sustainable garden space for years to come but also establishes a framework for students to have a voice in their community. After the first year of developing the initial design, students feel empowered to redesign and expand the garden to reflect the current student body. 

To view a picture book created by Ms. Jennings, please click the image on the left.

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When asked if the grant met her goals:

“Exceeded!! My goal was to have 90% of the school population experience the Wellness Center and the new equipment. As of today, I have had 103% of the school access the Wellness center and the tools we added. Students that have left Brookwood and are no longer part of our school population, have still had the impact of the items we purchased with the grant. The Pre-K classroom has accessed the sensory walks and the climbing wall, with support and supervision of the Pre-K staff.  The Under the Sea sensory path is used by so many different grade levels. A fourth-grade class uses it on their way back from Library and Music EVERY Week! The Warrior Wall is used as a great affirmation for staff and students. 323 students have accessed the Wellness Center this year. There have been 1384 visits to the wellness center where the crash pad, jumping board, sensory walk, balancing beam, steppingstones, and weighted items are used EVERY DAY!”

 

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Avery had just moved to Hillsboro from another district following her parents’ divorce. She was suffering from depression and anxiety and was having a hard time making connections in middle school. But she loved writing stories. When I introduced the Graphic Novel unit to the class, I saw a rare smile. She began to write. And she continued writing. After 18 pages, she began to draw. Every day working on the graphic novel, I saw her love for writing, drawing, and school in general increase. Her intermittent attendance improved and she was often the first one to class, working before the tardy bell even rang. Phone calls started coming from home. “Something’s different,” mom would say. “My daughter wants to come to school. She’s doing homework. She’s working for hours. What did you do?” One last phone call from mom: “Avery has decided that she’d like to be an author. She wants to publish her work.” Avery had a goal now; a direction. A purpose.

Avery went on to present her graphic novel at Evergreen Middle School’s Comicon (Comic Convention) where professional artists and authors reviewed her work and remarked on Avery’s immense potential.

Evergreen Comicon was a game changer for Avery.

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Nicole Chronister knew that Sara’s life wasn’t fair. She was dealing with life and family circumstances that no one should have to face in a lifetime, let alone at age 11. To make matters worse, the Tobias Elementary teacher didn’t know if her Girl’s Engineering After School Club was making an impact on her student. Sara, unlike the other curious and engaged girls, seemed unimpressed and aloof during the engineering projects that were introduced every week…more interested in her smart phone than building hydro lifts.

But Nicole learned the truth on parent day, the last day of the 8-week series when all the students presented their final projects. A shy humble man approached the teacher slowly. He introduced himself as Sara’s grandfather and thanked the teacher. He shared that his granddaughter rarely talked at home, rarely seemed happy, rarely seemed interested in anything but her phone…except on Monday nights after the Girl’s Engineering Club. On these nights, Sara came home full of excitement and ideas….happy. Sara insisted that she and her grandfather build a shelf together to display her club projects and built a movie projector completely on her own.

This engineering club was a game changer for Sara and her grandfather.