Spruce House Archives - Eagle Rock Blog

Meet the Team: Athletics Coordinator Jocelyn Rodriguez

This trimester marks the beginning of Jocelyn Rodriguez’ second year at Eagle Rock, where she formerly served as our Public Allies Fellow in Human Performance. Recently, she was asked to return as a full-time staff member, working in the new adjunct position of Eagle Rock athletic coordinator.

In her now role, Jocelyn is teaching several classes, including Changing the Game, a class that focuses on what it means to be a coach in professional sports. In addition, she is the new house parent for Spruce House.

As the athletics coordinator, Jocelyn continues to sustain our basketball program while also coordinating athletic events for the Eagle Rock community. Earlier this year, we highlighted Jocelyn’s work in this area in a post title ‘MoreThan a Game’ Shines a Light on More Than Basketball.

Jocelyn also now manages Eagle Rock’s Sports Challenge partnership with Strive at Haverford College, and will be attending Sports Challenge next year — a two-week program — with two members of the basketball team at Eagle Rock.

We recently caught up with Jocelyn between Eagle Rock tasks and asked her to fill us in a bit on her work experience, personal life, and some of her favorite things. Here’s what she had to say: Continue reading…

New House Parents Settling in at Ponderosa House and Spruce House

We’re not sure if it’s the result of good luck, or skill, or just longtime experience, but it seems every time we have the need for a new house parent for one of our six student housing complexes here at Eagle Rock School, we always end up with staff members who are perfectly suited for the role.

Each of the six houses within our on-campus Living Village accommodates up to a dozen co-eds in two separate sleeping wings, with common areas and shared community values being the focus in between. And our house parents are there to support the community, act as a sounding board, make sure the house chores are done, and so, so, so much more.

That being said, we are proud to introduce new house parents taking over this trimester at Ponderosa and Spruce.

Elizabeth Rivera and Carlos Perez are new house parents at Ponderosa House but not new to Eagle Rock. This married couple arrived in Estes Park in the fall of 2017 from Miami, where Elizabeth worked in the hotel and hospitality industry for more than two decades, and Carlos served as a cook at a variety of Italian, American, and Latin restaurants for more than 15 years.

Elizabeth is originally from Lima, Peru, and Carlos hails from Maracay, Venezuela. At Eagle Rock, Elizabeth is a business office administrative assistant, assisting parents and students with Continue reading…

House Parents Describe Their Eagle Rock Student Housing Experiences

At first glance, the job of being a house parent for a group of six teen-aged boys and an equal number of teen-aged girls could be a tall order. And as challenging as it is to properly support a dozen students on a daily and nightly basis, imagine a house full of young adults when it comes to being engaged in their own education and living community.

Three of our six house parents recently wrapped up their first trimester in this critical on-campus role. And, not unexpectedly, our administrators again proved to be really good at selecting the best staff members to serve as house parents. We’re also experts at preparing and supporting those house honchos for what the job entails, but some things — as you’ll read below — can only be learned while performing the job itself.

That being said, no one can describe the house parent experience as well as these fresh adult leaders. We’ve asked the three newbies to reflect on what those experiences meant to them personally. But first, a little background on our on-campus Living Village, which is made up of six houses — each designed to accommodate up to 12 students in two separate sleeping areas. Continue reading…

Eagle Rock School’s Latest Trimester Graduation Features 3 Graduates

A huge event for us this Friday at Eagle Rock School & Professional Development Center is the graduation of three members of our student body. This is the latest of what is nearing 100 trimesters of pomp and circumstance, and it will be broadcast live at 4 p.m. Mountain Time on the Eagle Rock Facebook Page.

Eagle Rock is a unique school, in that we put our full focus on teaching youth through an alternative form of education, with an emphasis on supporting students who come here from a diverse and underserved background.

Our students arrive from all corners of the country to reengage themselves in their own education via a trimester system that culminates in their biggest achievement — graduation. This Friday, we are proud to support our three latest graduates as they walk onstage in our Human Performance Center to receive their diplomas, in full view of fellow students, families, administrators, teachers and staff.

We recently asked these grads-to-be to sit down and write out a short biography about themselves, including their involvement at Eagle Rock School, their short- and long-term goals, and any advice they might want to leave for those who follow.

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

A Quartet of Eagle Rock School Grads Pick Up Diplomas this Friday

Because Eagle Rock School & Professional Development Center operates on a trimester system, we have the opportunity to enjoy three graduation ceremonies each year instead of just one.

And this Friday, April 13, we are proud to announce that four of our students (Cha’Asia Rucker, Brianna Campbell, Jefer Gomes, and Carolina Avalos) will be so honored as they stand atop the Human Performance Center stage in front of their school friends, families, and staff to receive their high school diplomas — signaling a tremendous achievement for students once considered disengaged in their own education and growth.

Technically speaking, each of this trimester’s grads has worked through all of the requirements necessary to earn a high school diploma from this progressive high school of ours that has been successfully graduating young adults with a promising future for the past quarter of a century.

Friday’s celebration will be broadcast live at 4 p.m. Mountain Time on through our Facebook Page.

As we customarily do, we asked each of our newest graduates to submit a short biography, explaining their involvement at Eagle Rock, their short- and long-term goals, and a bit of advice for current and incoming students. Here’s what they had to say: Continue reading…

Eagle Rock School Graduates ‘Lucky 7’ This Friday — Onstage and Online

Working on a trimester system, ours is an alternative and non-traditional school that works hard to recognizes the accomplishments of graduating students who have gone through all the requirements needed to earn their high school diplomas.

As our current trimester draws to a close, we are proud to announce that seven students have proved to the Eagle Rock community that they deserve to be up on our Human Performance Center stage — in front of their peers, families, instructors and staff — in order to receive their high school diplomas.

Marking the 72nd trimester since our founding back in the early 1990s, our latest trimester graduation ceremony begins at 4 p.m. Mountain Time this Friday and will be broadcast live on Facebook. If you want to watch this momentous event, visit the following Facebook Page starting at around 3:55pm MT Friday — https://www.facebook.com/EagleRockSchool — and look for the post containing the live video.

Below is a short biography about each of the seven graduates, along with info on what they did while at Eagle Rock, their short and long-term goals, along with advice for current and incoming Eagle Rock School students.

Courtney Coleman (arrived at Eagle Rock in May of 2015) — Courtney hails from Harlem, N.Y., and is a proud member of the Ponderosa House. She has been one of the leaders on campus these past few trimesters as she taken on lead positions in several campus groups and organizations.

Some of her involvements included being a member of Mag 7 (a campus group featuring Eagle Rock’s seven most veteran students that focuses on various leadership roles and opportunities); helping lead our Continue reading…

Artist in Residence Highlights Summer 2017 Explore Week

As if a selection of diverse and interesting courses weren’t enough, we’re adding Scott James to our Explore Week mix this time around, which means this poet and artist is on campus and meeting with students all week long.

As our official “Artist in Residence,” during Explore Week, Scott is in the midst, on the periphery and face-to-face with students every day this week. In fact, during most lunch and dinner hours, he’s poised over his vintage typewriter, ready for a good poetic challenge. The deal is, any Eagle Rock School student can walk up to Scott and offer a word — any word — for inspiration and Scott will write an original poem around that word. In fact, that’s pretty much his specialty, and a few years ago he churned out and gave away more than 1,000 such impromptu poems.

An Eagle Rock Public Allies Fellow in ER 40-42 (that would be the 40th through 42nd semesters since Eagle Rock’s founding in the 1990s), Scott currently resides in Austin, Tex., where he performs his instant typewriter poetry for events and parties, and helps writers turn their ideas into published books. His tools of trade include a 1946 Smith-Corona and he uses high-quality and handcrafted papers and techniques in his art that blend improvisation, metaphor and classic poetry.

Scott’s artistic career has included performance around the country, including Chris Guillebau’s World Domination Summit and Austin’s SxSW Interactive festival. And during Explore Week, this poet is available for one-on-one sessions with students. He’s also sitting in on several courses and conducting four workshops.

Meanwhile, for the students themselves, they’re all participating in one of the following course offerings: Continue reading…

Eagle Rock’s Sendoff for Our 7 Latest Graduates is This Friday

As ER 71 ends, our latest group of Eagle Rock School graduates — seven this time around — will depart our campus one last time amidst a thoughtful display deserving of such an achievement. And it all begins at 4pm MT this Friday, April 14, in our Human Performance Center.

Marking the 71st trimester since Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center’s founding back in the early 1990s, this latest trimester graduation ceremony will be broadcasted live, online, via our Ustream / IBM Cloud Video channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/eagle-rock-school-graduation.

As you may imagine of students who are now fully engaged in their own education, lives, and communities, our seven graduates have big plans in mind for the immediate future. Those objectives, along with their Eagle Rock School-related accomplishments and advice for incoming students, are outlined below.

Albert Molina (arrived at the beginning of ER 61) — Albert arrived at Eagle Rock in September of 2013 from Los Angeles. Most recently a member of Aspen House, he lived in two other houses during his time here. Over the past 10 trimesters, Albert has been involved in Mag 7 (a campus group featuring Eagle Rock’s seven most veteran students that focuses on various leadership roles and opportunities), and was instrumental in starting a debate group where students and staff practice their rhetoric to persuade others to take their view on specific topics.

Albert plans to participate on an upcoming National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) wilderness trip, and then earn a real estate license while simultaneously working on a college-level degree in business. His plan calls for shadowing a mentor in the field to gain experience on what it means to be a real estate agent. His long-term objectives include investing in the stock market with the intent of owning his own company with another investor.

One piece of advice Albert offers incoming students is to Continue reading…

House Retreats Are All Fun and Games With a Side Dish of Seriousness

At the beginning of each trimester here at Eagle Rock School, student residents and staff of our half-dozen on-campus houses participate in informal house retreats that last the better part of two solid days. And fun is right there on top of the agenda.

In anticipation of another trimester of hard work and community building, these house retreats place an emphasis on fun, community building, and great food.

It’s also a time for students and staff members to work on relationships, conduct serious conversations about the trimester ahead, build community and continue to develop their house culture. But it’s also the final hurrah before attending classes, and receiving and working on homework assignments.

There are house meetings to be attended, leaders and intramural captains to be elected and a no-nonsense discussion of the mission statement for each house. All necessary, considering these houses are, essentially, a smaller community within Eagle Rock that encourage and foster camaraderie and team membership.

In other words, what comes around goes around. And when we build a positive community within the houses, those aspects then spread to the Eagle Rock community at large. And not to neglect the fun part of these two-day events, students and staff do cook and share meals together, and reconnect through games, activities and one-on-one discussions.

Specifically, here’s what each of our houses have been up to this Monday and Tuesday… Continue reading…

House Retreats Convene to Re-energize Students and Staff Alike

On-campus housing at Eagle Rock means much more than a place to hang your hat or fall asleep. It’s a culture within a culture, with students building an intimate identity around one of our half dozen houses and then expanding that identity and familiarity to include the entire school. By concentrating on building a positive community and culture within the houses, these positive efforts encompass the larger Eagle Rock community and campus life.

Because one thing our houses do is promote camaraderie, team spirit, good-natured competition and a sense of belonging.

That being said, sometimes it’s difficult to return from a break and immediately recapture that feeling of oneness that was there when you last walked out the front door. Thus, the advent of the Eagle Rock House Retreat, which let us reconnect with our fellow housemates and spend some time focused on the culture of each individual house.

Below is a recap of the activities that highlighted our latest House Retreats in mid-September:

Aspen House: In addition to preparing several meals and enjoying delicious food, members of Aspen House went go-carting, bowling and teamed up for laser tag at Boodocks. They wound down their retreat with a move in comfy recliners at the Flatirons AMC theater in nearby Broomfield, Colo.

Juniper House: Things got off to a festive start for Juniper House residents with a barbecue at Lake Estes complete with a campfire with s’mores. Students created a house mandala with a statement written by each student about their roots, following by personal learning plans. What followed was some Ultimate Frisbee training and a photo scavenger hunt at Continue reading…