Hatboro-Horsham Educational Foundation

Innovative learning grants - the hhef provides grant funds to educators of the Hatboro-Horsham school district through our innovative learning grants (ilg) program. Every year teachers and principals submit applications that are reviewed by a committee comprised of hhef board members, community members and school district administrators. These applications come from involved and creative teachers who draw upon their classroom experiences to develop innovative programs that they know will benefit their students. Vetting their ideas through the competitive grants process ensures that the best of the proposals are funded. We fund innovative classroom projects at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Grants fall into five categories: civic learning, hands-on math & science, media literacy, environmental education for students, and guest professionals & artists-in-residence.

Hhef support helps provide the latest technology and equipment for hhsd robotics programs from chassis-drive systems to lego mindstorm ev3 robots. Hhef funds also support competition fees for students at keith valley middle school and Hatboro-Horsham high school. Through these robotics programs, students design, fabricate, assemble and program robots and compete in first robotics competitions, where our hatters team 708 has frequently distinguished itself at the national level. Our robotics programs teach teamwork, resilience, and have a track record of encouraging students to choose stem-related careers.

Guest professionals - by bringing eye-opening and mind-expanding guest presenters into direct contact with our students, we make inspiration, awe and discovery a valuable component of our children's education. Our students will have the opportunity to meet these guest presenters and interact with these individuals during standard school hours and within their classroom environment. The learning objective is to motivate and energize the students by helping them understand how their specific classroom lessons can be applied to everday situations and problems. This enhancement of the curriculum will focus on the discovery aspect of learning and the significance of positive role models for our students.

Outdoor education at the jarrett nature center - the hhef provides environmental educators to facilitate classes at the jarrett nature center (jnc). The jnc, a thirteen-acre nature center, is a rich assemblage of woods, meadow, wetlands, open water, and floodplain. From october through november and again from april through june, every student in grades one through five and grade seven attends outdoor science classes at jarrett nature center taught by environment educators from the briar bush nature center. Students will spend a morning or afternoon at the jnc involved in a variety of activities including finding and identifying insects and studying their biology, determining the health of our stream by identifying macroinvertebrates and measuring water properties and learning about wetlands and how these contribute to the health of our watersheds. The activities will vary from grade to grade, and will be aligned to the Hatboro-Horsham science curriculum. The students have an opportunity to think and act like scientists and make connections to the learning that occurs in their classrooms.