May 2018 - Eagle Rock Blog

Sarah Bertucci Named Eagle Rock’s Director of Curriculum

Editor’s Note: You might recall earlier this year that we announced Eagle Rock was actively seeking a new Director of Curriculum to replace Jen Frickey. Following months of reviewing cover letters and resumes, as well as a lengthy interview process, we arrived at a candidate who shined throughout the entire process: our own Professional Development Associate Sarah Bertucci. Sarah begins in her new role work this summer — just in time for our 75th trimester (ER 75). Below is some information on Jen and Sarah, as well as an in-depth Q&A with both of these Eagle Rock veterans.

So, let’s start with Jen:

Jen Frickey began her Eagle Rock career as an intern in our Human Performance Center (HPC) during our 25th trimester (ER 25) back in 2001. She was quickly promoted to the Instructional Staff (assigned to the HPC) and became a Lodgepole houseparent the following year, leaving in 2008 to raise two kids in Canada. She returned in 2012 as Director of Curriculum and is and is now returning to Canada to focus on spending more time with her kids.

Eagle Rock: What were your proudest accomplishments in curriculum?

Jen: When I came into the role I took over a strong instructional team based on the work of Jeff Liddle and Michael Soguero, continuing the curriculum in the direction they had taken it with the previous Individualized Learning Plans update. During my time, I worked on getting our practices more aligned, dialed, high-quality, and consistent across the entire instructional team. Continue reading…

Our 75th Trimester Begins with A Selection of Unique Classes

Spring break is history, which means our students are back in class for the beginning of the 75th trimester since our doors opened back in the early 1990s.

Delivering on our promise of reengaging students their own education, this new trimester — ER 75 — delivers a selection of unique classroom experiences, each designed to assist every student along his or her personal life journey.

That doesn’t mean we ignore the basics, such as mathematics, critical thinking, grammar and history. But one of the things that makes Eagle Rock School special is our curriculum that aims to present classes that challenge the mind, appreciate the environment and defend the underserved.

Offerings this trimester range from a study of the inequities of our nation’s prison system to recycling the world’s trash and creating art — in a class that is appropriately called “recreARTe.”

Below is a list of the first five-week class offerings currently underway at Eagle Rock, along with a brief description of what it is our students are undertaking in this new trimester (look for a follow-up post — covering the second set of five-week classes — around the 5th of July):

All Who Dared: Students enrolled in this class are using journalism techniques to uncover and document the history of Eagle Rock as we prepare to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. Through interviews, document examination, and other research methods, the class is collecting and presenting the Continue reading…

Summer 2018 Professional Development Center Update

Editor’s Note: Whenever the summer months begin to make themselves known, you can be certain Eagle Rock School’s Professional Development Center (PDC) staff is fully immersed in working with schools and learning organizations throughout the United States with the mandate of helping engage students in their own education.

Our knowledgeable Professional Development staff is on a tight schedule that continues through the summer months, visiting teachers and administrators at high schools in cities across the nation. For a quarter of a century, our PDC staff has been tasked with facilitating high-functioning oases of education — one school at a time.

Below is the ambitious schedule for Summer 2018 that includes areas where we’ve already met with educators and what’s on the agenda for the remainder of the summer season. The schedule was painstakingly prepared by Sebastian Franco, our 2017/2018 Public Allies Fellow in Professional Development.

MAY 2018

May 10

Toronto High School, Toronto, Ohio: Toronto High School, part of the Toronto City Schools, provides various enrichment opportunities for students, including Destination Imagination, science fairs, and the debate team. The district offers more than 30 semester hours of college credit as it prepares students for post-secondary education. Eagle Rock Professional Development Associate Anastacia Galloway Reed and Professional Development Center Public Allies Fellow Sebastian Franco conducted an asset observation throughout various classrooms, based on the Universal Design for Learning model.

May 10

Estes Park School District (EPSD), Estes Park, Colo.: The EPSD is in charge of all education programs in the Estes Valley area and its focus is to prepare students to shine as citizens in a world that is increasingly diverse and technological. Professional Development Associate Sarah Bertucci worked on essential learning outcomes with the school district’s superintendent and teacher leaders on the district’s Global Outcomes team.

May 11

I Have a Dream Foundation (IHAD), Boulder, Colo.: iHAD of Boulder provides support and resources to high school students by helping them graduate and achieve their dreams of attending college. Most students in the program have the opportunity to Continue reading…

Meet the Team: Residential Life Program Coordinator, Courthney Russell Jr.

Courthney Russell Jr. is the residential life program coordinator here at Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center, tasked with the responsibility of fostering a safe and secure environment within our on-campus community.

Born in Fort Knox, Ky., Courthney lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a time, and eventually moved to East Atlanta, Ga., an underserved community devoid of many of the services found in more well-funded communities. He attended Oakwood University in Huntsville, Ala., and received his medical degree in 2011 from Windsor University School of Medicine on Saint Kitts Island in the Caribbean.

It was while taking classes at medical school that Courthney made the decision to dedicate his life to humanity — to help neighborhoods like the one he grew up in. He says by leveraging his medical knowledge in a non-traditional way to become what he calls “an authentic, determined, humble leader by example,” he is doing his part (while helping others) to make the world, one neighborhood at a time, a better place to live.

Courthney joined the Eagle Rock community in 2014 as our community advocate and student support consultant and was promoted to his current role in Residential Life four years later. We recently sat down with him to learn more about his past, his thoughts on Eagle Rock and his interests.

Here’s what Courthney had to say: Continue reading…

Rock Climbing Embodies the Spirit of Eagle Rock Commitment No. 2

If you’ve spent any time at all on our campus, you’re probably somewhat familiar with our values and in particular, our 8+5=10, values.

Broken down, these values include eight themes that ensure we stay true to Eagle Rock School’s essence and mission. The five expectations create the framework that makes up our classes. And the 10 commitments are the values our students strive to internalize and live by.

From among all of these fundamentals, my favorite is Commitment Two, which asks us to develop our minds through intellectual discipline, our bodies through physical fitness, and our spirits through thoughtful contemplation.

To me, rock climbing is the total embodiment of that commitment. Because climbing a vertical wall of outcroppings requires mind, body and spirit to reach the top — and that holds true for even the most worn gym climb.

One of my duties as Eagle Rock School’s Public Allies Fellow in Outdoor Education is taking several of our students to the indoor climbing gym at the nearby Estes Park Mountain Shop. Our most dedicated climbers are Continue reading…