Mission Bay High parent Lily Higman was named \u201cVolunteer of the Year\u201d for San Diego Unified School District\u2019s Area C.<\/p>\n
The mother of three MBHS students \u2014 Jayden (Class of 2022), Justyne (Class of 2024) and Jevyn (Class of 2026) \u2014 was honored during the school\u2019s March 4 staff meeting. The announcement was made by Principal Eric Brown.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is her last as a parent of an SDUSD student,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThis is a wonderful time to acknowledge how grateful Mission Bay staff and I are \u2026 for her dedication and support. The \u2026 award is truly well-deserved.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the presentation, Higman said \u201cIt has truly been a privilege and an honor to receive this award.\u201d<\/p>\n
Six district winners, along with all site nominees, will also be recognized on May 20 during the San Diego Unified Stars in Education Celebration at Patrick Henry High School.<\/p>\n
The district winners were to be announced after PB Monthly\u2019s press deadline.<\/p>\n
In his nomination letter, Brown praised Higman for her more than 13 years of service.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear from the warm, sincere and heartfelt comments Lily has made huge contributions \u2014 not just at Mission Bay High School \u2014 but throughout the Mission Bay Cluster of schools,\u201d Brown wrote.<\/p>\n
Several staff members at MBHS supported Higman\u2019s nomination.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the years, Lily has supported me in my role as senior adviser \u2014 even though none of her children were on the senior council,\u201d said Lauren Filamor, MBHS dean of students. \u201cShe stepped up without hesitation, becoming someone I could count on for every event, every challenge and every unexpected need.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach of her students\u2019 senior years she has taken on the enormous responsibility of organizing the non-sponsored Disneyland Grad Nite, a massive undertaking that she manages with professionalism and care,\u201d Filamor said. \u201cHer dedication ensures our seniors have the unforgettable experience they look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Track Coach Danny Perez also praised Higman for her support of Mission Bay High\u2019s athletics department.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily has been an extraordinary presence at Mission Bay for many years, and her impact on our campus \u2014 both academically and athletically \u2014 cannot be overstated,\u201d Perez said. \u201cShe played a major role in helping establish our Track & Field Booster Club, providing essential structure and support that has directly benefited our student-athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeyond that, she has been a constant fixture in our school community, always willing to step in and assist any program in need,\u201d Perez said. \u201cHer involvement extends far beyond her own children. \u2026 Lily consistently supports multiple sports teams, helps organize parent involvement and is a focal point in ensuring our teachers and staff feel supported during events.\u201d<\/p>\n
Higman\u2019s impact as a voice on academic committees resulted in important changes inside the classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily Higman has continually participated in the BLT (Buc Leadership Team, schoolwide academic committee that focuses on school governance) and brought balanced perspectives to staff discussions since the beginning,\u201d said MBHS social studies teacher John Keast.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe implored us to focus on real-world skills in instruction and asked the question \u2018Why don\u2019t our kids know how to do basic stuff? Where is Home Ec (economics) in the continuum? Are students prepared to practice basic economic reasoning across subjects?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThese discussions prompted a re- evaluation of learning targets in my classroom, and I assume others too,\u201d Keast said. \u201cHer messaging was delivered in a way that revealed deep caring and understanding of the challenges facing teachers and students in a rapidly shifting educational environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Higman has also helped with the fundraising efforts that benefited many of the high school\u2019s departments.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily Higman has always been an absolute pleasure to work with,\u201d said art teacher Dee Parrish. \u201cShe has been extremely helpful with helping me get funding for special projects in my visual art classroom for years. I am consistently impressed by her dedication to our school, our students, staff and our programs, and I believe she has played a big role in all our efforts to secure funding for unique projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
Math teacher Kris Auer added, \u201cEvery year I apply for small grants \u2026 in support of a statistical lab that I do which requires reimbursement. Lily is in charge of these (Friends of Pacific Beach Secondary Schools) funds and her communication and punctuality are always professional and punctual. She makes getting reimbursed so easy so that I can get back to teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n
English and International Baccalaureate film teacher Mariana Balestreri-Rodriguez, called Higman \u201cincredibly supportive\u201d by providing her students with the resources they need to succeed. In English, it was in helping to secure more books to replace missing copies. In the film class, it was continuously advocating for the funding of editing software.<\/p>\n
As impactful as Higman has been on campus, her presence in the larger community on behalf of Pacific Beach schools has been just as impactful and meaningful.<\/p>\n
Filamor called Higman\u2019s community efforts \u201ca vital link between Mission Bay and the larger community. In every group, committee or council she serves on, she finds meaningful ways to bring support back to our school.\u201d<\/p>\n
A recent example is the completion of an on-campus Student Wellness Center. From coordinating painting, flooring and cabinet removal to troubleshooting daily obstacles during the summer, Higman answered every call, provided solutions and never hesitated to step in, according to Filamor. With Higman\u2019s help, the space was fully furnished and was established as a gold standard<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a board member of the Pacific Beach Women\u2019s Club, she connected our wellness team with their organization \u2014 leading to a $5,000 grant that directly supported our students,\u201d Filamor said. \u201cShe has also brought a number of community scholarships for graduating seniors through her relationships with community groups.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other efforts included supporting Mission Bay High\u2019s school pantry, assisting in efforts to secure new golf carts and repeatedly stepping up anytime the school or community needed a leader, Filamor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I need volunteers, community partners or creative problem-solving, Lily is always the first person I call \u2014 and she always shows up. Her dedication, compassion and deep commitment to our students have shaped Mission Bay in countless ways,\u201d Filamor said. \u201cTruly, without Lily, I am not sure Mission Bay would be as strong, connected or successful as it is today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Higman said she spent all these years volunteering because she wanted to make her children\u2019s time in their schools \u201cas memorable as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a big public school advocate \u2026 and public schools are as good as any other school,\u201d she said. \u201cI think our successful work within the Mission Bay Cluster is obvious \u2026 high quality, rigorous programs, the longest wait list to choice into the cluster and students continuing to attend colleges and universities in record numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mission Bay High parent Lily Higman was named \u201cVolunteer of the Year\u201d for San Diego Unified School District\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[37630,74,76,75,1354,106874],"class_list":["post-236723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-mission-bay-high","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-san-diego-unified-school-district","tag-schools-in-pacific-beach"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}