Empowering Tomorrow's Innovators: How Hairgrove Elementary's Fifth Graders Became Adobe Express Junior Ambassadors
The initiative and creativity of fifth grade students at Hairgrove Elementary School led to the campus being the first Adobe Express Junior Ambassadors program worldwide.
During the 2022-2023 school year, Hairgrove teacher Christine Morgan expanded the use of the Adobe Express platform with her students. The free multipurpose creative tool allowed the Dolphins to make engaging projects with customized designs that enhanced their learning experience.
Morgan, a social media-savvy educator, posted some of the creations online and caught the attention of Adobe Education executives. One of them, Ben Forta, Adobe senior director of education initiatives, was impressed by the content he saw on Twitter (X) and reached out.
“There was something about the energy in those words, and how excited the kids were,” Forta recalls. “Something clicked in my head, and I messaged her asking if she would be interested in partnering with me to see if we can do this withall kids. There really wasn’t much of a program before this.”
Morgan and Hairgrove Principal Michelle Lee agreed to launch an Adobe Express Junior Ambassador cohort with 20 fifth grade students, who began meeting every Wednesday after school for one hour to collaborate and create.
Adobe for Education program manager Darren Smith consults with Hairgrove “We worked on projects that students were inspired by or wanted to create themselves, such as custom backgrounds for the Chrome browser and even the Apple Watch,” Morgan said. “It was exciting to bond with them over creativity, but also empowering and inspiring for everyone involved. It became the best part of my school year.”
One of the favorite activities, “kindness dashing,” involved students creating inspirational and uplifting cards that they printed out and distributed around the school—in the library, in bathrooms and on desks—that could make someone smile on a rough day.
“There were moments I just sat back and watched them,” Morgan said. “I watched them provide each other feedback that they consumed. Adobe Express is big on spreading the joy of creativity. They embraced that. They were finding new ways to celebrate people and embody Adobe Express’s mission. It was amazing.”
The students presented at CFISD’s EdTech Expo last spring, and regularly checked in with Forta and other Adobe team members to share their experiences.
“They were giving us a lot of feedback, the kind of real-world feedback some companies would pay a fortune for,” he said. “We wanted to build a product kids will love, and it was good to hear their enthusiasm for some features and less for others.”
Adobe “education evangelist” Claudio Zavala Jr. consults with representatives of Hairgrove’sForta and his team made a surprise visit to Hairgrove to meet the student creators in person last May, handing out Adobe swag and other prizes.
“I walked in and the kids were giving hugs and high-fives. We thought we were best friends.” He said. “They loved the prizes. One of their moms commented later how powerful it was for their son. It was awesome.”
Morgan earned the title of Adobe Express Creative Innovator, and the company flew her to various teacher trainings around the country to spark interest and growth of the program.
While the inaugural group of fifth grade Adobe Express Junior Ambassadors moved on to middle school, the program continues to thrive at Hairgrove—where a new group of 20 students are creating and collaborating in 2023-2024 with the support of Adobe.
Citlaly Marin, a current Junior Ambassador, highlights her favorite memory as “…being able to present at the Berry Center for the Student Edtech Expo. I enjoyed being able to get on stage to share with others how they can be creative with Adobe Express. It was fun to finally show everyone my hard work and what we’ve been learning and working on throughout the year!”
Hairgrove Elementary School fifth grade students comprising the campus’s second group of Adobe Express Junior Ambassadors Another 2023-2024 Junior Ambassador, Elizabeth Garcia, describes her time so far in the program “…incredible. It has been such a wonderful experience to create and have fun at the same time. I have gotten to do so many unique projects, make more friends, and learn a lot of new fun things that I didn’t think I was capable of at first. I also love to spend time with my amazing teacher Ms. Morgan.”
When reflecting on the experience, Morgan continued, “Honestly, I didn’t expect the program to end up meaning so much to so many people or to inspire as many people as it has. I feel like it’s a legacy we simply must continue.”
Source: CFISD
