Teacher Testimonials (received assistance from HEF)
The Highlander Educational Foundation has been instrumental in supporting student success at Upland High School. HEF sponsored medallions for students who have completed the Business Academy requirements.
Hef has given me a way to recognize my high achieving kids.
It has also helped in the classroom by giving us some instructional tools that would benefit our students and we did not have to buy.
For me personally my son got the most hef awards during his four years here and got a scholarship. That was a very nice surprise.
Because of HEF, I have been able to offer a wide selection of reading materials for my students. In particular, the AP sections of my bookshelves have grown substantially, which has made access to high interest college level literature easier. The grants HEF has awarded me have helped my students to continue to develop a love for reading beyond the curriculum.
I am a new teacher in the biology department. Not only am I new to UHS, but this is my first teaching position. Consequently, I have not had much time to accumulate scientific things with which to decorate my classroom so it looked pretty bleak and bare that first semester. With my generous $500HEF grant, I bought scientific posters and specimens which are now scattered throughout my room. I overheard one of my students describe our classroom to another student this way: “It looks like a natural history museum!” Thank you HEF for making my room a welcoming place for my students, one in which they feel free to touch and examine my displays to their hearts’ content. And thank you for making me feel welcome in the UHS community!
They have helped immensely with keeping my calculators and compasses at a 1:1 ratio with the students! I could not do what I do with common core without their help!!
I received a HEF award for bus passes. My Adult Transition class takes the public bus weekly to local restaurants and stores. The students learn the following valuable skills: community safety, how to ride public transportation (how to wait for the bus, how to enter the bus, how to use a bus pass, where to sit, bus etiquette, how to request that the bus stop, how to exit the bus) how to order and eat at a restaurant and how to navigate and purchase items at the store.
HEF makes science fun!
HEF has been a supporter of the Flexible Seating I use in my classroom. HEF funding provided floor seating options for my students. In conjunction with HEF and Donor’s Choose, I have multiple seating options in my classroom: floor seating, standing desks, rolling chairs. Research on Flexible Seating indicates an increase in student engagement, attendance, and success. I have seen first hand an increase in student engagement, confidence, and in-class happiness.
HEF has made so many things possible for our students. I have received lab equipment I would never be able to afford given our normal classroom budget. I have received models, lab kits, lab glassware, dissection equipment, microscope supplies, and electronic balances. HEF has also allowed me to increase student engagement by allowing me to purchase a class set of handheld student microscopes so we can have a 1:1 ratio instead of a 3:1 ratio during microscope labs. We can even go outside with our new microscopes to explore the natural world! I have also received laminators to allow students to get some hands on practice with manipulatives like vocabulary puzzles, sorting, matching, labeling diagrams, or even playing board games to learn biological concepts. HEF has immensely changed what I am able to do with students in my science classroom. I cannot thank HEF enough for what they have done for our students!
I was able to buy headphones with microphones for my Read180 classes through the HEF awards program.
HEF has been a great resource for extra funding in science. Every year HEF awards are given to outstanding students then teachers can apply for a $500 grant. I have used this many times to get extra lab equipment for science. Thank you HEF!!
