The Professional Development Center at Eagle Rock will continue education renewal work in collaboration with Noble Impact through Noble Institute in Fort Smith, Arkansas from June 23- 27, 2014
Recognizing the need to provide high school students with formal public service training, the Noble Institute centers its agenda on providing students the skills necessary to make a public service impact in their communities.
A Gallup Student poll released in January reported that student engagement in elementary school is 76 percent but drops to 44 percent in high school.
“If we were doing right by our students and our future, these numbers would be the absolute opposite,” according to the Gallup report.
The Gallup Student poll also notes, “Among the many types of students whose engagement wanes during their time in the educational system are those who have high entrepreneurial talent.”
“Clearly the demand exists at the high school level to increase opportunities for engagement,” said Chad Williamson, a Clinton School graduate and former high school teacher helping organize and launch the Institute. “Noble Institute will provide a unique environment that will harness the energy of service and entrepreneurship that exists in high school students today.”
As a summer program, the Noble Institute is modeled on the successful curriculum already implemented at the Clinton School. Similar to the processes and skills developed at the Clinton School, students at the institute will participate in hands-on, collaborative projects that identify and address real-world community challenges.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Clinton School alumni and it’s exciting for us to see Clinton School graduates elevating the importance of public service among young people,” said Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford.
Officials from Fort Smith say, “The FSPS District is excited to have many students participating in Noble Impact’s “the Institute” next week. Students from Chaffin, Darby, Kimmons, and Ramsey Junior High Schools and Northside and Southside High Schools will partner with local businesses to identify community problems and develop possible solutions. We look forward to seeing their work!“
“If you would have asked me a month ago, ‘What could you do to change the world?’ I wouldn’t be able to answer that at all. But now that I’ve learned that anyone can make a difference no matter what age, what size, what color, what anything.” – Sophomore Student, Institute 2013.
Join the culminating project pitches on Friday, June 27, 2014.
About Eagle Rock
Eagle Rock, a nonprofit Corporate Social Responsibility initiative of the American Honda Motor Company, is both a school for high school age students and a professional development center for educators. The school is a year-round, residential, and full-scholarship school that enrolls young people ages 15-17 from around the United States in an innovative learning program with national recognition.
The Professional Development Center works with educators from around the country who are interested in engaging in education renewal and reform. The Professional Development Center works with educators committed to making high school a more engaging experience for our country’s youth.
We envision this country’s high schools as high functioning centers of engagement and learning. We accelerate school improvement and support implementation of engaging practices that foster each students’ unique potential and help young people use their minds well.
For more information please visit www.eaglerockschool.org and check us out on Twitter @eaglerockschool and on Facebook at facebook.com/EagleRockSchool.