Hilight

How Two Friends are Transforming School Culture with Their Recognition App

In the chaotic world of education, where teachers and staff are constantly putting out fires and dealing with emergencies, it can be easy for the positive moments to get lost in the shuffle. But two friends, Krissy Taft and Claire Smith, are on a mission to change that with their innovative app, Hilight.

The idea for Hilight was born out of Claire’s own frustrations as a middle school math teacher in Louisiana. “It felt like every conversation I was having with my colleagues was just focused on the negative—all the bad things that were happening, all the emergencies and fights,” she recalls. “But I knew there were so many more positive moments happening in every classroom every day that were just getting overlooked.”

Claire reached out to her longtime friend Krissy, a software engineer, and together they set out to build a simple system that would allow teachers and staff to easily recognize and celebrate each other’s successes. What started as a homemade combination of Google Forms, Google Sheets, a Wix website, and a Canva template, has since evolved into a robust, customizable platform used by 55 schools across 10 states.

The core of Hilight is its virtual “bulletin boards” where personalized messages of recognition can be shared throughout the school community. Teachers can send shoutouts to their colleagues, principals can praise standout lessons, and even superintendents can leave heartfelt notes for teachers.

“The impact of getting that kind of external validation is huge,” says Claire. “As a teacher, you’re pouring your heart into your work every single day, and it can be so defeating when you feel like no one notices. But when the superintendent takes the time to publicly recognize you, it means the world.”

Beyond the instant morale boost, Hilight also provides school leaders with valuable data and analytics. They can track which core values are being celebrated the most, identify staff who may be at risk of turnover, and use the platform’s customizable reward system to further incentivize and motivate their employees.

“We really wanted to create something that was tailored to the unique needs of the education sector,” explains Krissy. “A lot of the employee recognition tools out there are very corporate-focused, but teachers and school staff aren’t typical corporate employees. Their motivations and the challenges they face are fundamentally different.”

As Hilight continues to grow, the co-founders have their sights set on expanding beyond just K-12 education. They’re currently preparing to pilot the platform in the healthcare industry, where they believe it could have a similarly transformative impact on employee morale and retention.

“Our ultimate goal is to create a culture of positivity and recognition in any organization where people are doing important, challenging work,” says Claire. “Because when you feel seen and appreciated for the difference you’re making, it changes everything.”