Rooted in Purpose: How One Fellow Turned a Year at Eagle Rock into a Career of Impact

At Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center, we believe that the journey to becoming an educator is just as important as the destination. Our Teaching Fellowship and Alternative Licensure Program are designed to do more than prepare teachers: we aim to cultivate visionary leaders who bring equity, reflection, and purpose into every classroom they enter.

Today, we’re sharing the story of Andrew Barron, an alum of what was then the Public Allies Fellowship, who has taken the values of Eagle Rock into public schools across the country. His journey, from a young college graduate unsure of his next step to a public school principal leading instructional innovation, reminds us just how powerful one year at Eagle Rock can be.

A Year That Planted the Seeds

Andrew came to Eagle Rock in 2004 as part of the ER 34 cohort. Fresh out of college with a degree in English and only a vague idea that teaching might be in his future, he wasn’t ready to jump into a traditional teacher prep program. He wanted something different, something that would let him explore education more holistically, with room to grow and question. Eagle Rock gave him the space to dive in.

What struck Andrew most wasn’t just the curriculum or the outdoor adventures – it was the people. Coming from South Carolina, Eagle Rock was his first experience in a more diverse and intentionally inclusive learning community. The cohort model, the values-based culture, and the chance to learn alongside passionate, forward-thinking educators left a lasting impression.

It was at Eagle Rock that Andrew first experienced Presentations of Learning (POLs), a practice he would later bring to his own classrooms. It was where he first saw curriculum built backwards from deep learning goals, and where he saw empathy, reflection, and high expectations seamlessly coexist. It was also where he began to understand that the work of teaching is deeply human, community-rooted, and transformative.

From the Classroom to Leadership

After his time at Eagle Rock, Andrew took his values and experience globally, working for a year in a boys’ home in Argentina. Upon returning to the US, he held roles that spanned substitute teaching, social services, and experiential education. The throughline? Relationships, real-world learning, and an unwavering belief in young people’s potential.

Andrew eventually landed in Minneapolis, where he taught high school English for nearly a decade at Cristo Rey Twin Cities, a private Catholic school serving students from low-income backgrounds. There, Andrew implemented a mastery-based grading system, allowing students to revise their work and grow over time. Andrew names this change as a direct extension of Eagle Rock’s focus on growth and process over perfection. That shift started in his classroom and eventually transformed the entire school’s assessment philosophy.

Andrew went on to earn a master’s degree from Harvard and later a PhD while still teaching. He served as Dean of Curriculum at Cristo Rey before moving into district leadership roles in data and equity in a new school system, focusing on embedding belonging, social-emotional learning, and multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and standards-based learning across systems.

Today, Andrew is a principal at a small public school in South Dakota, where he serves as the school’s sole administrator. He designs professional development, mentors and counsels students, and coaches teachers with a strong focus on instructional innovation. His values are clear, and his impact is felt.

Teachers at his school regularly tell him, “I’ve never had a principal who talks so much about instruction.” That passion? It started at Eagle Rock.

What Makes Eagle Rock’s Fellowship Different

Our Teaching Fellowship and Alternative Licensure Program aren’t just stepping stones to certification. They dig deeper, they go beyond; they’re transformational experiences designed to shape educators who lead with heart and purpose.

Here’s what sets us apart:

• Immersive, Cohort-Based Learning: Fellows live and work in community at our residential campus in Estes Park, Colorado. Learning is integrated, relational, and deeply reflective
• Hands-On Teaching Experience: From day one, fellows co-teach, develop curriculum, and engage in real-time feedback cycles that challenge and support them to grow
• Justice-Oriented Philosophy: Our approach centers equity, belonging, and student agency. Fellows explore what it means to teach in ways that honor the whole student and transform traditional power dynamics
• Pathway to Licensure: For those pursuing certification, we offer individualized support through an alternative licensure process, approved by the state of Colorado. As Andrew’s story shows, that credential can open doors, especially for those coming from non-educational backgrounds

Most importantly, we help emerging educators align their practice with their values. We don’t have all the answers. But what we are doing is equipping you to ask better questions, to lead with curiosity, and to create classrooms where young people thrive.

Take the Leap

Andrew’s story isn’t unique because of where he ended up. It’s unique because of how deeply he internalized what Eagle Rock stands for, and how consistently he’s carried those values forward, from his first classroom to his current role as a school leader.

If you’re someone who wants to create learning environments that are dynamic, inclusive, and grounded in purpose, we invite you to take that first step.

The world needs educators who are ready to lead differently. Ready to begin? Learn more, reach out to us, and consider applying to our Teaching Fellowship and Alternative Licensure Program today.