“Where I Am From”   A Biopoem By Amber Hendren

I am from white linen pants

And coconut whipped cream from Trader Joe’s.

I am from the “Land of Enchantment”, “La Tierra del Encanto”,

And the “Land of Entrapment”.

I am from sorbet sunsets, watermelon mountains, whipping winds and juniper allergies.

I am from Luminarias on Christmas Eve

My Mom’s quilts and my Dad’s fried okra.

 I am from the love of the arts and

Music flowing through my veins.

From “you are the apple of my eye” and

“Play us another song! 

Hey!  Can you play Jump by Van Halen?”

I’m from God is Love. Love Heals All.

You are the Love that illumines the entire Universe.

I’m from the border where the great river divides two worlds.

Menudo and bolillos for breakfast and

Cornbread, black eyed peas and meatloaf for dinner.

From the hands of Gramma Pratt teaching me Beethoven,

And Grandma Elsie showing me how to make banana pudding.

I am from a wooden box in my closet next to shoes I can no longer wear.

And on my dresser next to a drawing of vistas of New Mexico

Craig made for me.

PROPAGANDA IN ARCHITECTURE

Students analyzed global structures of power to understand how architecture can function as propaganda, shaping how people think, feel, and behave. They then designed original posters reimagining architecture as a tool for social justice, using visual elements to communicate messages of equity, inclusion, and change.

ENLIGHTENMENT CAFÉ 

The Enlightenment Café is inspired by the World Café model, a collaborative dialogue process that transforms classrooms into lively cafés of ideas. Students gather around tables named after different philosophers of the Enlightenment / Age of Reason.

Instead of passively receiving information, participants co-create meaning, serving up knowledge together in an atmosphere of curiosity, dialogue, and discovery.

GRAFFITI BOARDS

Art and music as protest.

Students created graffiti boards using original or selected lyrics to express a social justice issue they felt strongly about, combining visual art with written voice. Through this process, they explored how art can function as a form of resistance and advocacy, using creative expression to communicate messages of justice, identity, and change.

LOTERÍA CARDS : Mexican Revolution Project

Geography MAP RACE!

Students competed in a fast-paced global map race, locating 150 cities across five continents using only physical atlases. By removing technology, the activity strengthened core geography skills, teamwork, and students’ ability to navigate the world with confidence.

HIGH TECH HIGH INTERNATIONAL BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

My HTHI Student, Natally Elizabeth Valderrama Earns Top Honors in Countywide Art Competition

Natally (with me) being honored by San Diego County Clean Air Committee

VELICES DE High Tech High International

Students are currently engaged in a project-based exploration of global displacement by researching real individuals and creating symbolic suitcases that represent identity, resilience, and lived experience. Through storytelling, art, and public exhibition, students position themselves as authors of change, using their work to elevate human stories and foster empathy, awareness, and social responsibility.

Students are partnering with a San Diego relief organization to research, interview and create a Suitcase of Hope for those they serve. In each suitcase will be a hand-made blanket and soap they created in Chemistry. Suitcases and blankets are thoughtfully crafted to represent stories of identity, resilience, and belonging.

While students are working on researching relief organizations, others are carefully creating no-sew blankets.

And others are thoughtfully designing and decorating suitcases.

Students produce handmade soap in chemistry, which is included in each suitcase as a tangible expression of care, bridging scientific inquiry with service and human connection.