Marking 5 Years of Professional Development for Ohio Valley’s Related Arts Instructors

Described in simple terms, the Ohio Valley encompasses a series of small towns alongside the Ohio River in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania — all of them heavily dependent on the steel industry.

During my high school years, our nation’s steel industry began to collapse and with it, the economies of many of these riverside communities, among them my own hometown of Weirton, West Virginia. Weirton Steel — our city’s primary employer — fell on hard times and as a result, many families in that town joined others up and down the Ohio River who suffered major economic losses.

Just across the river from my hometown lies Steubenville, Ohio, whosename is derived from Fort Steuben, a 1786 fort that sat within the city’s current limits and was named for German-Prussian military officer Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. Today, a replica of the fort is open to the public (downtown on South Third Street). The city’s other claims to fame are its annual Christmas Nutcracker Village & Advent Market, Dean Martin Festival, and more than 25 murals scattered throughout the city. Steuben is also the county seat of Jefferson County.

As an Ohio Valley native — and with the above as background — I take great pride in the work I’m able to do in this area through a long-time partnership between our Professional Development Center (PDC) and the Jefferson County Education Service Center (ESC).

This educational collaboration started as a Continue reading…

‘More Than a Game’ Shines a Light on More Than Basketball

Our 2018/2019 Public Allies teaching fellow in Human Performance, Jocelyn Rodriguez, has implemented a program called “More Than a Game” that targets students who want to develop their both their basketball and leadership skills. To be a part of the program, students are expected to exhibit leadership in the Eagle Rock community, participate in various team-building activities, and put forward the effort to succeed not only on the basketball court, but in the classroom as well.

Jocelyn takes over where Cordell Church — our 2016/2017 Public Allies teaching fellow in Human Performance — left off. Cordell initiated a co-ed basketball team two years ago in order to create a safe space for students to interact with the game, learn some sports and life skills, and have fun at the same time. (Learn more about that offering by reading For Some at Eagle Rock, Basketball is the Only Game in Town here on the Eagle Rock Blog.)

Under Jocelyn’s tutelage, the 18 students who are participating in the More Than a Game program are engaging in various leadership roles, including serving as team captain and in leading team huddles. In particular, one Eagle Rock School student has been Continue reading…

Annual Estes Park Duck Race on May 4 Benefits our Graduate Education Fund

Here’s an interesting fact about the upcoming Estes Park Duck Race — a benefit event that helps to raise funds for among other things, our Graduate Higher Education Fund. What used to be called the Rotary of Estes Park Duck Race has been elevated in status to a genuine festival.

2019-Duck-Race-Estes-Park

Now known as the Estes Park Rotary Duck Race Festival, the daylong event maintains its tradition — dating back 30 years — in which participants launch thousands of little yellow duckies downstream in hopes of winning from among hundreds of prizes. The grand prize is $5,000 in cash, with the following three winners picking up destination vacations at national parks. In addition, hundreds of prizes from Estes Park merchants and others will be handed out at the finish line.

However, the real winners of this duck float and fest are the benefiting organizations and charities whose supporters “adopt out” the rubber racing ducks, with 95 percent of each duck’s adoption fee going directly to locally-based organizations, including Eagle Rock. In the past three decades, more than $2.4 million has been Continue reading…

Distribution Requirements Play a Big Role in This Trimester’s Latest Class Offerings

A little more than a month ago, we offered a behind-the-scenes look at a number of class being offered during the first half of our 77th trimester (of Eagle Rock School). In addition to highlighting new five- and 10-week classes, we preceded that listing with a description of the role Power Standards play in Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) here at Eagle Rock.

To review, a student’s ILP is comprised of three sections: Power Standards, Distribution Requirements, and Required Experiences. And this time around, as we rundown the latest classes to be offered (during the second half of this trimester), we’re going to go into the details surrounding the role Distribution Requirements play in our curriculum and how students acquire credits as a means of assessing progress in order to complete their graduation requirements.

Here’s how Distribution Requirements fit into the scheme of things when it comes to Individual Learning Plans: Continue reading…