Public Allies Archives - Eagle Rock Blog

Public Allies Eagle Rock Seeks Fellowship Applicants

For the 2022-23 program year, the Public Allies Eagle Rock Fellowship will provide eight individuals with an advanced year-long service and leadership development experience at the nationally recognized Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center, located in Estes Park, Colorado. Public Allies is a national movement committed to advancing social justice and equity by engaging and activating the leadership of young people. Eagle Rock is a full-scholarship residential high school, serving students between the age of 15 and 21, from diverse backgrounds and neighborhoods around the country, for whom having voice and agency in their education is the pathway to success. We also support schools nationally to implement effective and engaging practices to equitably serve all students. Eagle Rock is proud to be an antiracist, social justice organization.

The Public Allies Fellowship at Eagle Rock is a residential, community-based opportunity for aspiring educators & youth workers who are passionate about alternative learning strategies, social justice, youth development and empowerment, and re-engaging high-school students in their education. Continue reading…

Now Recruiting Public Allies Fellows to Start in August 2021

Here at Eagle Rock, we believe leadership is not a position to be held, but an action that all young people are capable of taking. And Public Allies — a national organization committed to creating a just and equitable society by engaging and activating the leadership of all young people — is one of our partners in advancing that cause experientially.

Specifically, we’re talking about the Public Allies Eagle Rock Fellowship, which in 2021/2022 will offer eight individuals the opportunity to work with us in our efforts to re-engage high school students in their education, which for our next cohort of fellows is accomplished through a year-long service and leadership development experience here in Estes Park, as well as online if and when health and safety protocols dictate.

Recent cohort of Public Allies Fellows at Eagle Rock.

The Public Allies Fellowship here at Eagle Rock — which will celebrate its 20th anniversary when the next fellow cohort joins us in late-August of 2021 — is a residential, community-based opportunity for future teachers and educational leaders who are passionate about alternative approaches to learning, social justice, and youth development and empowerment.

As such, we are actively seeking applications for the selection of eight young adults to work with us and our students as either Educator Fellows or Health and Wellness Fellows. The application deadline for these fellowships which run from Aug. 27, 2021 to July 1, 2022), is March 15, 2021.

Educator fellows will earn their teaching license here at Eagle Rock, becoming leaders through training, mentorship, developing curriculum, creating student activities and events, and designing and implementing in-house team service projects. Additional responsibilities include classroom instruction, participating in residential life programming, providing academic and personal support for individuals within our diverse student body — acknowledging that learning happens everywhere, both for students and instructors.

Our Health and Wellness fellows play a crucial role in supporting student social-emotional needs and encouraging their growth and healthy development. This includes participating in Continue reading…

Meet the Team: Mackendy Blanc – Program Director of Public Allies at Eagle Rock

Mackendy Blanc, Eagle Rock’s Program Director of Public Allies, was drawn to our school by its progressive curriculum that he says enables fellows to “oscillate between in-classroom instruction and real-world experience” through our Professional Development Center.

The Director of Public Allies at Eagle Rock position allows Mackendy to level the playing field for young professionals by creating an environment where they can take a leap of faith, find their voice, and develop and hone their skills based on passion and ability. Mackendy calls that a jumpstart for their professional journey.

Before coming to work at Eagle Rock, Mackendy launched Katalyst Konbit — a training ground for Haiti’s next-generation of entrepreneurs. Under Mackendy’s leadership, Katalyst Konbit has become a go-to organization for aspiring entrepreneurs on the Pearl of the Antilles to catalyze their entrepreneurial journey while learning how to innovate at scale.

We asked this purpose-driven leader, who now leads the successful Public Allies program here at Eagle Rock, to share a bit about his career — and his personal life. Here’s what he had to say: Continue reading…

Eagle Rock Welcomes 7 Public Allies Fellows to Our Community for 2020/2021

Joining us remotely at Eagle Rock School & Professional Development Center this trimester is a new cohort of Public Allies fellows, each with eyes set on their own personal growth and professional development while learning about and directly supporting alternative approaches to engaging students in their own education.

This cohort is the 18^th since Public Allies first came to Eagle Rock in 2002 and will be the first to ever start their fellowship from their homes instead of our campus in Estes Park, Colo. That’s because of the health pandemic and because on campus learning remains paused and remote for the time being.

Each of these five new and two returning Public Allies Fellows are either beginning or continuing a year-long commitment of service within our residential and community-based experiential education program between now and next August.

Funded largely by AmeriCorps, Public Allies is centered around the notion that everyone has the ability to lead, and anyone can be an inspiration to others. Each of our new and returning fellows has already demonstrated a passion for progressive education and social justice, and each has participated in our Fellow Core Training program held Aug. 28 to Sept. 11.

The focus of that training was to support the fellows in preparing to serve students at Eagle Rock by building relationships with the community and getting to know the Eagle Rock way, even as that way forward evolves during the health pandemic. They will now become integrated into the staff team and co-teach or co-counsel with our full-time staff online.

But more about that later. Below, we present a brief overview and some interesting facts about each of these young leaders: Continue reading…

Eagle Rock Seeks its Next Program Director for Public Allies

We’re pleased to announce that Eagle Rock is looking for someone to join our community in the position of Program Director for Public Allies, Eagle Rock. This is an exciting time for us, as we are working to fulfill on our commitment — which we asserted in January of this year — to be an antiracist, social justice-focused organization. By the end of this summer, we expect to have a new fulltime program director onboard for our Public Allies Fellowship Program.

The application deadline for this position is Monday, July 27, with final interviews scheduled for Aug. 3 through 7. We’d like our new director to start work on Monday, Aug. 24. However, to ensure we hire the right individual, we can be somewhat flexible with the timeline.

The new director of Public Allies Eagle Rock will take on the task of running all aspects of our fellowship program, bringing an antiracist commitment to mentoring eight to 13 young professionals who are entering the field of education and will be performing a year of service at Eagle Rock.

What is Public Allies? This 28-year-old national leadership organization has its focus on producing diverse leaders to address the country’s predominant issues through apprenticeships that are currently active in 22 states. It is a national movement with the goal of empowering young educators to in a way that deeply addresses systemic oppression throughout society.

Public Allies’ emerging leaders-in-the making are expected to utilize their talents and interests in order to help create a better future for the communities they call home. Statistically, these diverse agents of change are currently comprised of 80 percent people of color, 60 percent women, with a majority of all participants coming from low- and moderate-income families living within underserved communities. Among the nation’s Public Allies alumni are Grammy Award-winning artists, comedians, elected officials, community organizers, educators, and nonprofit executives.

Eagle Rock’s new Public Allies program director should feel comfortable working at Continue reading…

Eagle Rock Now Recruiting Next Cohort of Public Allies Fellows

Today’s post focuses on our search for candidates that will comprise the 2020/2021 cohort of fellows in the Public Allies Eagle Rock program. If you’re unfamiliar with the program, Public Allies Fellowship at Eagle Rock is a residential, community-based service opportunity for individuals who are passionate about alternative approaches to teaching and learning, as well as social justice, youth development and empowerment, and re-engaging high-school students in their own education.

The program — now in its 19th year — allows 13 individuals to serve as fellows in the broad categories of teaching, student services, or professional development (see below more information on each position). Fellows help build our capacity to better serve our students and our national mission of supporting high school student re-engagement.

Additionally, while living and working at Eagle Rock, fellows participate in a rigorous leadership development program, on-going training and community-building activities, and design and deliver team service projects, all of which help individual cohort members grow as leaders.

2020/2021 Fellowship Openings

Applicants for our next cohort of fellows — which runs from Sept. 2020 through Aug. 2021 — offers opportunities for 13 paid positions within three categories. These include: Continue reading…

Meet the Team: Eagle Rock’s 2019/2020 Public Allies Fellows

Summertime will soon be just a memory as Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center’s students, instructors, staff members, and campus administrators make their way back to Estes Park for our 79th trimester.

Among those new and returning Eagle Rockers is a cohort of instructional, professional development, and student services fellows. This time around, our Public Allies Fellows includes a total of 12 new and returning charges, each either beginning or continuing a year-long commitment of service to the Eagle Rock community.

Beginning next week, our dozen fellows will jump onboard and participate in everything we have to offer when it comes to education and professional development. And each of these fellows will be responsible for supporting alternative and progressive approaches to teaching and learning, with an emphasis on engaging students in their own education.

Claiming the title of Fellow is no walk in the park. Helping to mold fair and equitable societies takes work, and the task requires a stubborn passion and the courage to take action. Funded by AmeriCorps, Public Allies is centered around this concept… that everyone has the ability to lead and anyone can be an inspiration to others.

With that conception at the forefront, each of the fellows featured below has committed to becoming active participants in our unique residential and community-based form of education between now and next August. Each has already expressed or demonstrated a passion for teaching and youth development, as well as an interest in progressive education — which is very much what Eagle Rock School is all about.

Below, we present a brief bio and some random facts about each of these young leaders: Continue reading…

Meet the Team: Eagle Rock’s 2018/2019 Fellows

Summer break is winding down here at Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center, and that means we’re getting ready to welcome a new cohort of instructional, professional development, and student services fellows. Our 2018/2018 cohort includes ten new and three returning fellows — a baker’s dozen who are about to begin or continue a year-long commitment to service.

Our 13 fellows will immerse themselves in everything we have to offer in education and professional development — each responsible for supporting alternative and progressive approaches to teaching and learning, with an emphasis on playing an important role in engaging our students in their own education.

Below, we present a brief educational history and biography of each of our new and returning fellows:

Amelia la Plante Horne, 2018/2019 Fellow in Residential Life

Amelia was born and raised in Las Vegas, N.M. After graduating from Eagle Rock School (she arrived in May of 2011, graduated in April of 2014), Amelia attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where she designed and completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Ecological Praxis in Healing — a multidisciplinary degree that explored environmental science, anthropology, philosophy and psychology.

During her college years, Amelia’s non-academic activities included creating a campus Continue reading…

Announcing Eagle Rock’s 2017/2018 Cohort of Public Allies Fellows

We’re about two months away from welcoming nine new and three returning Public Allies Fellows to Eagle Rock for the 2017/2018 academic year.

Achieving the title of Fellow is no easy task. Funded by AmeriCorps, Public Allies is insistent in the philosophy that everyone has the ability to lead and anyone can be an inspiration to others. Creating just and equitable societies takes hard work, and the job requires a great amount of passion, and the courage to step forward and take action

Arriving September 1st, each of the fellows referenced below will be active participants in our residential and community-based school and professional development center. To that end, each fellow has expressed or demonstrated a passion for teaching and youth development — and more specifically — an interest in progressive education.

So, who exactly are these young leaders? Below are short biographies and a few fun factoids about each of our 2017/2018 Fellows:

Adam Louie, 2017/2018 Public Allies Fellow in Outdoor Education: Adam was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration from San Francisco State University. With an emphasis in Outdoor Education, Adam has worked as a field instructor for Outward Bound California and frequently takes courses with WMI (Wilderness Medicine Institute). His love for nature and passion for traveling has brought him to many corners of the earth. Adam enjoys getting lost in foreign countries, learning their language, and eating local street food. He also can’t get enough of playing sports, experimental cooking, and binge watching tv series.

Adriana Ortiz, 2017/2018 Public Allies Fellow in Health, Wellness & Counseling: Adriana is originally from the Bronx, NY. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia and recently completed her Master’s degree at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Prior to pursuing graduate school, Adriana served as an AmeriCorps Member for City Year Los Angeles. When she’s not in school or working, Adriana enjoys discovering new places to eat, reading, listening to music, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
Continue reading…

2017 Public Allies Fellows Tackling a Trio of Team Service Projects

Among the many responsibilities taken on each year by Eagle Rock’s cohort of Public Allies Fellows are Team Service Projects (TSP). This time around, our 2016/2017 fellows have their eyes set on three such projects that are expected to come to a close by the end of this summer.

Taking a step back for a moment, each year, we offer full-time apprenticeships to 12 Public Allies Fellows from across the nation. These fellowships provide an advanced year-long service and leadership development experience at our full-scholarship residential high school in Estes Park, Colo. Once here, the fellows are tasked with working with our educators in re-engaging, retaining and graduating our most prized assets — our students — many of whom have not found success in conventional school settings.

Once on campus and acclimated to their new roles, each fellow participates in a Team Service Project that seeks to recognize the assets of a community instead of approaching communities in a needs-based manner. In small groups of fellows — and in partnership with community members — members of the cohort create, implement and evaluate a service project with sustainable and lasting positive impact.

What we offer below are updates to three such projects that have been taken on by our Public Allies Fellows: Continue reading…