Harlingen School of Health Professions teachers Ashley Perez and Bianca Rodriguez will be able to kick start their leadership program, Lead University, next year thanks to the Innovative Teaching Grant awarded by the Harlingen Area Educational Foundation.
The purpose of the program will be to help incoming eighth-grade students throughout the district learn and develop leadership skills.
“Harlingen School of Health Professions is proud of our teachers for their recognition as HAEF grant recipients,” says HSHP Principal Tina Garza. “Their innovative plan to impact students as leaders across the district is a true example of collaboration as we prepare them to place themselves at the front of the line of opportunity.”
With Lead University, the teachers hope to create mentorship opportunities alongside community members, host leadership workshops and get students involved in service projects.
“I am very excited about the award, and I am ready to get started on the project,” says Perez. “Ms. Rodriguez and I came up with an idea to make sure students have the access to developing their leadership skills and really just exposing them to community members who can provide them with insight on what it means to be a leader. We feel that it is a huge skill that they need to be successful as they move forward.”
Each year, the HAEF committee reviews applications for the Innovative Teaching Grant, which seeks to fund innovative teaching techniques that impact learning beyond the traditional classroom approach.
“We had a lot of good applications, but there was one that stood out above the rest with out-of-the-box thinking and multi-campus involvement,” says HAEF President Janine Marie Campbell. “We are adopting Lead University as one of our programs that we continually fund throughout the year. We are very excited to see the students that come out of this program.”
The Harlingen Area Educational Foundation, Inc., an independent, non-profit corporation promoting quality education in Harlingen CISD schools. The Foundation raises private-sector funds to support programs and activities, which either have not been funded or have been underfunded by the regular operating budget. These funds are used to facilitate student achievement and skill development and to expand community involvement for individuals, business, and civic organizations.
