8 | MAY 2018
theVoice
A FEW WORDS FROM RPS 205 SUPERINTENDENT
Students complete Capstones before heading to college
Teaching leadership that addresses real-life challenges As the 2017-18 school year comes to a close, I am reflecting on the wealth of leadership we have in the Rockford Public Schools. Last week, East High School senior Cole Bathje pulled off a successful concert to benefit the Rockford Promise scholarship program. It was Cole’s Capstone, a project that allows students to apply their academic learning to real-life challenges. Cole’s project began with a survey of his classmates, in which he found out only 18 percent of them planned to return to Rockford after college. To him, the problem had a clear solution: Raise the educational attainment in our community. Cole started to think about a way to meld his lifelong interest in local music with the Promise’s interest in removing financial barriers to post-secondary education through full-tuition scholarships. Cole convinced Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts to headline the April 27 concert at Veteran’s Memorial Hall. By planning and executing every detail of the concert, Cole learned a lot about real-life leadership. The same night as Cole, an RPS 205 student leader, helped to celebrate this year’s 22 Promise scholars, the Golden Apple Foundation celebrated teacher leaders at its annual Excellence in Education Banquet. We add our congratulations and gratitude to Golden Apple teacher Rachel Huetson of Nelson Elementary School, along with Principal Amber Miller of Johnson Elementary, who received the Puri Family Outstanding Principal Award from the Golden Apple Foundation. The Golden Apple is always a powerful event that celebrates the
Dr. Ehren Jarrett Superintendent RPS 205
lasting impact of the teacher-leaders in our community.
Fostering Leadership Leaders don’t happen by accident. They are formed over hours of collaboration and critical thinking about ways to address challenges. It’s the kind of work we value highly in RPS 205, and it’s why we were honored as a Ford Next Generation Learning Community. Ford NGL is the signature program of the Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company. It honors communities like Rockford that have developed and implemented high school academies. The goal is to create a new generation of young people who will graduate from high school both college- and careerready. Capstone projects are a big part of readiness in RPS 205. In past years, Capstones have focused on cancer research, a bone marrow drive, an original
music
composition,
stock
market investment, and an art showcase on the beauty of Rockford. Cole Bathje will take the skills he learned in his Capstone project and head to Augustana College in the fall. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of radio interviews and nonstop emails. Before that, there were meetings with businesses to see how they could help. “I’m never going to look at concerts the same way again,” Cole said. Those, too, are valuable lessons to prepare Cole to compete successfully in the 21st century economy, whether he pursues his chosen field of multimedia journalism and communications, or something else. Especially
this
month,
as
we
graduate the class of 2018, we salute all the leaders in the Rockford Public Schools who take college and career readiness to the next level. Dr. Ehren Jarrett is superintendent of Rockford Public Schools. The views expressed are those of Dr. Jarrett’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Cole Bathje
Rockford Chamber of Commerce.