Reflecting on Eagle Rock’s Past and Looking Ahead to the New Decade

The holiday break is drawing to a close and here at Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center, our instructors, staff, administrators, and students will be trickling back onto campus next week as the New Year — and a new decade — get underway.

Recently, there has been a flurry of debate on social sites claiming the new decade doesn’t officially begin until next Jan.1, but proponents of that notion forget that there was no Year Zero when the current era began more than 2,000 years ago. As a result, some may feel that all decades, centuries, and Millenia begin with Year 1.

(Photo by David W. Riggs | Sourced from Unsplash)

Now that we have put that silly debate to rest, here’s a quick look at Eagle Rock’s past, and what the future holds for our school and Professional Development Center (PDC).

Back in the spring of 1989, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. contributed ideas and funds for what would become the Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center. Its vision was for an educational organization that would focus the interest of young people on community, integrity, and citizenship. And it targeted youth who weren’t exactly fitting into the mold demanded in a traditional high school setting.

In addition, through close coordination with other school districts and educational organizations, our PDC team was tasked with  Continue reading…

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center

Today, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center.

We established Eagle Rock in 1993 after two years of research and study of existing educational options throughout America. The goal? To find new ways to reach and educate high school students who, for whatever reason, needed a new approach in their education. We started from scratch – constructing this tuition free, residential high school at the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, Colorado.

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From the beginning, our interest has not been simply in making successful students, but fostering engaged citizens who are willing and able to make a difference in the world. We determined to take a holistic approach, believing that intellectual growth is advanced through physical, mental, spiritual and social growth. This includes leveraging the Continue reading…

Eagle Rock Students Are Halfway through Another Educational Explore Week

Regular classes have been set aside for the week as Eagle Rock students turn their attention to physical and mental explorations that range from touring Labyrinth Canyon via canoe, to a tour of nearly a dozen colleges and universities in Southern California for those seeking a higher education when they graduate from Eagle Rock School.

It’s all part of Explore Week, with unique course offerings that fall well outside the realm of formal education and more into the category of leaping feet first in to real-life experiences. Students are currently halfway through this — one of three Explore Weeks held each year— and below is a listing and brief description of the six course offerings in which they are participating:

25th Anniversary Prep Crew: For this course, 10 students have volunteered to stay on campus to help us produce this weekend’s 25th anniversary celebration of Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center’s founding back in the early 1990s. (Learn more about this weekend’s celebrations by visiting our 25th Anniversary section of our website.)

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Several of these students are learning about event management and organization, while others are getting an education in property maintenance and management. In addition to picking up a fistful of service hours, these students will play a vital role in making sure that everything is in place for a successful anniversary celebration this coming weekend.

There are also fun evening activities underway throughout the week, giving students the chance to Continue reading…

Student Stories Document Our Path in 25th Anniversary Magazine

As a part of our 25th Anniversary celebration on June 30 here in Estes Park, Colo., a number of students are writing news articles about what shaped our school’s quarter century of successfully bringing non-traditional education to underserved, but deserving youngsters — resulting in reengaging youth in their own education.

The writing is being created as a part of a class called All Who Dared, in which students are using the techniques of journalism to discover and uncover the history of Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center. Through interviews with our founding administrators and educators, and by digging through archival-quality documents, students in this class are collecting and presenting stories that illustrate what it was that made Eagle Rock what it is today. These researched reminisces and news stories are being compiled into a digital magazine that will be distributed later this summer.

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Below, we have taken excerpts from three of these writings that will appear in the online magazine. These short outtakes illustrate the work being completed by some of our students as they attempt to document their take on Eagle Rock’s history — in writing.

First off is an article titled Inception by Eagle Rock student Emiliano M. Vivanco: 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.

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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…

Eagle Rock Celebrates 25 Years Creatively

Six-word-story-eagle-rock-school-4This summer marks the 25th anniversary of Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center, and as might be expected, an academic challenge is among the many events planned for this celebration of 25 years of reengaging youth in their own education.

But first, a word about the festivities planned for Saturday, June 30, here on our mountainside campus in Estes Park. While specific events for the day are still being firmed up, you can count on lunch, tours of many of the 26 buildings (including engaging activities with many of the spaces within the development zone of our 640-acre campus), the opportunity to reunite with alumni and meet current students and new and veteran staff members.

And speaking of games and activities, we’re asking current and past students and staff and friends in the Eagle Rock community to submit a six-word story that best describes their experience with Eagle Rock. Why only a half-dozen words? How can anyone define an experience in six words? By Continue reading…

Eagle Rock Students, Instructors and Staff Wrap Up Another Successful Year

It’s been a busy December here at Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center, and as we wind down for the holiday season, we thought it might be helpful to post a schedule for the rest of 2017 and the beginning of the calendar year ahead.

First off, where we’ve been this month:

  • We graduated three of our amazing students with pomp and circumstance last Friday, with the rest of the student population heading back to families spread across the nation last weekend.
  • Our staff held a holiday party this past Sunday, wrapping up the trimester with a final staff meeting on Monday morning.

Many staff members will be gathering together to make plans for our 74th trimester (ER-74) this week, as well as put additional thought and work in on the planning for our 25th Anniversary Celebration, which is scheduled for June 30, 2018, here in Estes Park, Colo. And, of course, our business office and operations team continues to run the day-to-day tasks that recognize deadlines and schedules (in addition to holidays and celebrations).

Eagle Rock School Elk Dec 2017
(Photo: ©2017 Joel “Shortz” Ziegler)

Meanwhile, staff from our Professional Development Center are wrapping up the current trimester with several commitments in Wisconsin in support of our clients. These include visits with Continue reading…

Donate Now and Triple the Value of Your Alumni Gift

620449_3396621368990_999839045_oIf you’ve ever given thought to making a donation to the Eagle Rock School Alumni Association but weren’t sure if that donation would actually make a difference, we now offer an opportunity to you to do so and triple the value of your contribution.

How is that possible, you ask? It’s all due to the remarkable generosity of Dick and Carol Herb, the former who was our long-time director of operations before retiring about five years ago. What this remarkable couple has done is establish a challenge grant that is now in place through July 31 for the funding of the school’s Alumni Association. It’s a cut-and-dry formula:

  • For every dollar you donate, Dick and Carol will contribute two more dollars, up to a maximum of $5,000.

So let’s say, for example, we scramble up $2,500 in contributions by the July 31 deadline. That means Dick and Carol will add another $5,000 to the pot.

Stands to reason that if all Eagle Rock alumni were to donate $25, $50 or $100, we would surpass our goal. And by Eagle Rock alumni, we include graduates, former interns and Fellows, former students, former staff members, ERS parents and sponsors, guests of the Professional Development Center and other friends.

We’re going to take a brief moment here to ask you to reflect back on the impact Eagle Rock has had on your life, and give accordingly. Remember, every tax-deductible dollar you donate will triple in value, thanks to Dick and Carol.

Please write a check today, and make it out to Eagle Rock School Alumni Association. Send it to:

Eagle Rock School
Attn: Alumni Association
2750 Notaiah Road
Estes Park, Colorado 80517

You can also donate through our secure online donation form by following these five simple steps: Continue reading…