Getting to Know Eagle Rock

  • An initiative of the American Honda Education Corporation, a 501(c)3, a nonprofit subsidiary of the American Honda Motor Company
  • A full-scholarship high school for students and a low-cost professional development center for secondary school educators
  • Located in the mountain resort community of Estes Park, Colorado, gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park
  • Opened in the fall of 1993
  • Admits and graduates students three times a year
  • Year-round (three trimesters) and residential
  • Purposefully small, full enrollment of 72 students

Students

  • Have not experienced success in traditional academic programs
  • Did not expect to graduate from high school
  • Are passionate about changing their lives
  • Are admitted between the ages of 15 and 17
  • Graduate when they can demonstrate mastery of Eagle Rock’s requirements
  • Choose to enroll; choose to stay
  • Come from across the United States
  • Are equally represented, male and female
  • Comprise a purposefully diverse community

The Professional Development Center — Linking Eagle Rock with Educators

  • Consulting services at school sites around the United States in order to facilitate learning. Our facilitative approach emphasizes the modeling of effective practices, leading staff development efforts, and coaching leadership.
  • Teacher Licensure
  • Visits to Eagle Rock’s Professional Development Center
  • Public Allies Teacher Fellowships, Internships, Pre-Student Teaching Practicums, Student Teaching, Graduate Practicums, Residencies, Research opportunities,
  • Publications and Presentations

Focal Points of the Eagle Rock Program and Curriculum

  • Creating a community of learners
  • A set of guiding principles — “8 themes + 5 expectations = 10 commitments”
  • Challenging new students with a wilderness trip
  • Personal growth as well as academic growth
  • Service, being of “use”
  • Standards-based education with high expectations
  • Documentation of learning to prove mastery or proficiency
  • Active, interactive, interdisciplinary, and project-based experiential learning
  • Orientation toward application of learning
  • Courses regarded as vehicles for learning and documenting proficiency
  • No grades for courses and, therefore, no failure
  • Learning in a variety of modes, including times and spaces
  • Performance assessment that enhances learning