Meet the Team: Karla Vargas-Ochs, Health Care Coordinator

Karla Vargas-Ochs, who is our health care coordinator, comes to our Colorado campus with a boatload of experience, highlighted by 14 years as a combat medic in the United States Navy. In addition to her career in the Navy, Karla considers herself a mother first, a daughter, a niece, a feminist, and a college-educated registered nurse with a specialty in medical case management.

She is a 2019 graduate of Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Mich., where she majored in Nursing and Medical Case Management. Before that, Karla studied Biology and African American Studies at Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Va., and Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Prior to joining us at Eagle Rock, Karla chalked up more than two decades of medical experience, including work as a private nurse in the home health sector. While in the Navy, she worked in primary care, emergency room, public health, surgical services, and ancillary services. In 1999, Karla deployed to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba; worked at a field hospital unit in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009; and in 2011, worked aboard the United States Naval Ship Comfort in support of a global humanitarian mission that provided assistance to 11 countries in Central and South America, as well as throughout the Caribbean.

We asked Karla to take a few minutes to answer some more questions about her career, her life, and what she does in her free hours, and here’s what she told us:

Eagle Rock School: What attracted you to Eagle Rock?

Karla Vargas-Ochs: I struggled as a teen, eventually dropping out of high school. I would have benefitted so much from the experiences Eagle Rock provides its students. Joining the military is really what saved me. It showed me I was stronger than I ever thought I could be, taught me discipline, and gave me a jumping off place. I see those same values here at Eagle Rock — only wrapped in a different package. Our students have to opportunity to build on all of that, while receiving the nurturing and guidance every teenager deserves to have. After I was discharged from the military, I missed the camaraderie of being a part of something bigger than myself. Eagle Rock gives me an opportunity to experience that again, and I feel very privileged to be a part of this community.

ER: When you’re not working, what do you like to do in your spare time? Continue reading…

Eagle Rock is Scouting for an Outdoor Education Course Manager

If leading a group of incoming students on a multi-week wilderness orientation program at one of the nation’s most progressive high schools sounds like an exciting and rewarding opportunity, then you may be interested in our full-time Outdoor Education Course Manager opening.

Backing up for a moment, numerous studies have shown the benefits of wilderness orientation programs. From metrics associated with fostering a sense of place to those related to social benefit, you don’t have to look very far to understand why curriculum-based outdoor and experiential programming — including a multi-week orientation program like ours — offers tremendous efficacy with respect to student engagement and growth.

Eagle Rock School students participating in a recent Wilderness Orientation Program.

Here at Eagle Rock, our new outdoor education course manager will serve as part of our Student Service Team within our Human Performance and Outdoor Education (HPOE) department. If hired, you will support field-based courses and contribute to residential life on our Estes Park, Colo. campus. Located on the border of Rocky Mountain National Park, this position offers unmatched opportunities for foster rich relationships with students and peers, with the great outdoors serving as your classroom.

Required qualifications and essential tasks of the position include: Continue reading…

We’re Now Focused on Filling Post for Experienced Science Instructor

If you, or someone you know, is an experienced high school science teacher who believes in the potential of young people, would enjoy being part of a social justice-focused instructional team, and is excited about experiential education and project-based learning — then we would like to hear from you or your acquaintance.

At the minimum, our new Science Instructional Specialist should possess a bachelor’s degree in science, or a related STEM degree. A master’s degree is preferred. As for the position itself, it commands the delivery of innovative curriculum that encourages students to invest in a healthy curiosity as well as scientific thinking. The science instructor we’ll hire should also have experience in Big Picture, Expeditionary Learning, or similar progressive school models.

Spaces for Science at Eagle Rock School

Most important is experience working with diverse populations, including students from differing racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds — specifically LGBTQ students and those from lower-income backgrounds. This includes keeping priorities of diversity, equity, and inclusion top of mind.

Among the attributes we seek from our new science instructional specialist: Continue reading…

Eagle Rock School Seeks a Full-time Music & Performance Instructional Specialist

If music and theater are your passions and teaching specialties, and you have a deep desire to work with a diverse group of high school students from across the nation who fancy themselves musicians and actors among other things, you or someone you know may be interested in one of our latest job openings — Music & Performance Instructional Specialist.

In addition to leading a schoolwide music and performance program and overseeing our school’s theatrical performances, the winning candidate for this job will put together and deliver a curriculum that is both innovative and creative.

Other requirements for this position include skills in vocal technique and piano, including the ability to play contemporary and popular music; as well as the ability to teach voice, piano, guitar, bass, and drums. A basic understanding of technical theater, lighting design, sound design, set construction, props, and costumes is also a must.

At a minimum, our Music & Performance Instructional Specialist position requires a bachelor or master’s degree (preferred) in music, performance or a related degree. And to be even more specific, below is a short list of the expertise you should already have in your teaching tool kit before arriving for your first day of work:

  • Experience teaching high school music with a wide variety of course designs and program models.
  • Experience in Big Picture, Expeditionary Learning, or similar progressive school models.
  • A commitment to experiential education, project-based learning, and the creative process.
  • Experience working with diverse populations including students from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, LGBTQ students, and students from low-income families.
  • A demonstrated commitment to engage wholeheartedly in our organizational priority of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

In addition to real-world experience, you will need to demonstrate success in Continue reading…

We’re Looking for a Language & Literacy Instructional Specialist

Once again, we’re searching for a qualified candidate to join our instructional team — this time as a Language & Literacy Instructional Specialist. The winning applicant will serve as part of our anti-racist, social justice-focused instructional team, and will be charged with leading our school’s efforts to deliver literacy to all students with our own brand of competency-based curriculum.

But before we get to the requirements for the job, we should advise anyone who is interested in working at Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center that our preference is for instructors who consider their positions as more of a calling than just a job. To that end, we will be asking you to consider working as a residential Houseparent for student housing. Further, we will ask that you mentor students one night a week. And we’d like our new instructor to be an active member of the Eagle Rock community by attending community meetings, helping with on- and off-campus service projects, and sharing your unique skills, ranging from sports to poetry to any other talents.

Now for the requirements of the job. Candidates for the Language & Literacy Instructional Specialist position must possess: Continue reading…