Summer Highfill: Empowering students for career success.
Summer Highfill, the 2023-24 Knowledge Matters Educator of the Year, is a CTE Business Pathways Lead Teacher at Oregon Charter Academy, Santiam Canyon School District. Summer has over 24 years of experience in education. She is a trailblazer for Career and Technical Education (CTE) in Oregon, inspiring students and colleagues alike to shape the future of education and the workforce in Oregon and beyond.
Meet a teacher utilizing Knowledge Matters Simulations and Digital Curriculum Courses.
Summer Highfill is a passionate CTE teacher at Oregon Charter Academy with an unwavering dedication to shaping the minds of students and preparing them for success in the ever-evolving professional landscape. She relies on Knowledge Matters’ interactive simulations to provide work-based learning to students with practical experience in areas like project management, marketing, and tourism. The robust hands-on simulated learning experience has resulted in “a significant increase in student motivation and achievement,” according to Summer.
“The ability to keep students engaged in content that they are interested in, through Knowledge Matters simulations, is the key competitive advantage our program offers students.” – Summer Highfill
Oregon Charter Academy is located in a rural area, yet serves students across the state of Oregon. They face the challenge of providing students with access to diverse educational opportunities, but the “partnership with eDynamic Learning and Knowledge Matters has been a game-changer in overcoming these challenges”. The online learning aspect as well as the wide array of courses and simulations provided by eDynamic Learning allows Oregon Charter Academy to offer equitable access to high-quality education, “leveling the playing field and giving every student the chance to thrive academically and professionally” with educational opportunities that would “otherwise be unavailable to our students locally,” according to Summer.
“Our experience with eDynamic Learning and Knowledge Matters has been transformative for our students and our program at Oregon Charter Academy. Through their innovative resources and unwavering commitment to educational excellence, we’re equipping our students with the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to thrive in the 21st century workforce.” – Summer Highfill
Increased Math Relevancy and Comprehension
Our simulations and courseware have been instrumental in students’ successful completion of high school education, boosting graduation rates at Oregon Charter Academy and informing students’ decisions to enroll in post-secondary opportunities with confidence. “Students are not only mastering essential skills but are also more invested in their education because they can see the direct relevance of what they’re learning to their future careers.”
Oregon Charter Academy employs a project-based learning approach to math. Using Knowledge Matters to apply math to real-world scenarios, such as owning a business, they have seen a 100% pass rate in math classes where simulations are used.