To keep our families and community members in the district informed on what Hilliard City Schools has been up to this year, we sent out a Spring Newsletter to your homes that highlighted fiscal forecasts, curriculum adoption, career opportunities, and more. As a district, we are committed to building partnerships with our families and our community.
To view the full newsletter, click the 2023 Spring Newsletter button below.
Congratulations to our very own, Amanda Schaeffer, teacher of Art and Ecology at the Innovation Learning Hub for receiving the 2023 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators. This award is presented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
The Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (PIAEE) was established by the 1990 National Environmental Education Act and seeks to recognize, support, and bring public attention to the outstanding environmental projects performed by teachers who go beyond textbook instruction to incorporate methods and materials that utilize creative experiences and enrich student learning in K-12 education.
From across the country, 13 educators and 41 students are recognized for their leadership and commitment to environmental education and environmental stewardship. This year, nine educators received the 2023 PIAEE, and four educators were recognized with an honorable mention distinction. Winning educators demonstrated leadership by integrating environmental education into multiple subjects and using topics such as climate change, environmental justice, water infrastructure, healthy school environments, environmentally friendly agriculture practices, recycling, and reducing contributions to ocean and marine litter.
Mrs. Schaeffer personally developed her course, “Art and Ecology,” to create advocacy opportunities while empowering students as agents of change in their own communities. With 15 years of teaching experience, Mrs. Schaeffer sees how art is a living voice for change, and her lessons instill that vision into her students while equipping them with the tools to contribute to that change.
One of Mrs. Schaeffer’s quintessential projects was the Rain Barrel Project. In collaboration with the City of Hilliard, the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and other organizations, her class converted 15 trash barrels into rain barrels as part of a water conservation effort. After researching rainwater runoff, students designed, then decorated, these barrels while raising funds through sponsorship for an additional 50 barrels. Not only was this intellectually and artistically stimulating for students, but the work behind the barrels also taught them about sustainable business models. It resembled another one of Mrs. Schaeffer’s class projects: the creation of a raised garden bed in the school’s courtyard. Thanks to her teachings, students specified the ideal location, set timelines and budgets, and created their own designs and measurements for the garden. Following student presentations on the best approaches, Mrs. Schaeffer guided the class toward a consensus. Together, they finalized the garden, and Mrs. Schaeffer uses it to this day to teach her students about nutrition, food insecurity, and water conservation.
Practicality is a core component of Mrs. Schaeffer’s curriculum, which is why she encourages community involvement in her projects. Produce from the student garden, for example, is donated to the Hilliard Food pantry, and her class coordinated with a local sheep and alpaca fiber supplier to create a felted vertical planter for the Highland Youth Garden. This philosophy drives her “Seeds of Change” project, where students create community connections across neighborhoods so that the lessons and benefits of urban farming and sustainable art are accessible to everyone. In fact, Mrs. Schaeffer’s “Seeds of Change” has been so influential that it even caught the attention of filmmaker Thomas Sawyer, who showcased it across the nation at film festivals and art centers.
Mrs. Schaeffer’s work has contributed to student success stories and a more sustainable Ohio. Many students have continued to work independently on projects that were inspired by her teachings, and community hubs like the Highland Youth Garden remain grateful for the benefits they have received from her class projects. To this day, Mrs. Schaeffer remains an adamant supporter of climate justice, and she inspires her students and her school to make sustainability a reality through conversation and collective action.
Shades of Blue from Hilliard Bradley High School competed in the International Championship of High School A Cappella this season. This competition is a March Madness style competition for a cappella groups, like the competition depicted in the box office hit movie Pitch Perfect. They were one of 212 high school groups nationally to compete this season. They advanced to the Finals at the Town Hall Theatre in New York City to compete against 8 other groups. They competed in the Finals on Friday, April 28th, and were crowned National Champions! Congratulations on such a huge accomplishment!
Iann Shiff Photography: https://www.ianshiff.com/
Mrs. Gillespie’s Honors ELA students are working on a Design Thinking Project to solve real-world challenges that amputees may encounter. Students started this project by reading the novel The Running Dream, which is about a high school track star who tragically loses her leg in a bus accident. Throughout the novel, the class learned how the runner overcame obstacles both physically and mentally.
To add real-world experiences, the class had the opportunity to hear from Bradley student Gigi Humeidan and ILC teacher Katie Bondy, who are both recent amputees, along with Jen Swift, an OSU physical therapist. Deputy Superintendent Mike McDonough rounded out our guest speakers by giving students a glimpse into what life is like after being an amputee for several years.
Students then chose specific hurdles to solve that the speakers deal with daily. They then researched their challenges to become more knowledgeable and started ideating and prototyping. Once they have a completed prototype, the students will have the opportunity to share their challenges and subsequent solutions with the school.
The class’s biggest takeaway was to see how all three of these people continue to have such a positive mindset even after new and unexpected setbacks.
Kindergarten through fifth-grade students from J.W. Reason Elementary participated in a design thinking challenge to design a shoe for kids that do not have access to shoes. Students had to empathize, define the problem, ideate, prototype, and test their designs. The top 20 shoe designers were selected from J.W. Reason Elementary based on their creativity, design, and function of their shoes. These chosen creatives took a field trip to the Innovative Learning Hub for three consecutive days to partner with a 7th and 8th-grade student in the BE2TA lab to bring their shoe to life using the 3D printer!
Student leaders at Darby Creek Elementary came up with a charitable idea called See Kids Dream, where classmates donated loose change and a committee of 30 students conducted interviews with local organizations to determine where their earnings would go. Within five days, Darby Creek scraped together nearly $4,500! The student leaders decided to donate their earnings to Callahan Murphy Hare Foundation, a central Ohio organization that advocates for critically needed pediatric cancer research to improve outcomes for children diagnosed with cancer.
On May fourth, the student leaders will go to the Riffe Center to share their journey with other student leaders and community leaders. Students learned that small change can make a big impact and they will continue to figure out ways to make a difference for their community.
