Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood Update
August 10, 2021
Hello Hersey Huskies!
Good Afternoon Hersey Parents and Students,
My name is Keir Rogers; I’m excited and grateful to be the new Principal of John Hersey High School. Understandably, I can imagine what’s at the forefront of most parent’s and student's minds, but please allow me a moment to introduce myself.
I’ve been a school administrator since 1999. This past year I served as Principal of the D214 Specialized Schools; the 12 years prior, I was Principal at River Trails Middle School in Mount Prospect. I grew up in Indiana, studied and played basketball at Loyola University Chicago and ultimately played professionally in Europe. I taught in the Chicago Public Schools and eventually became an assistant principal in Rockford. My wife, 16 year old daughter, and 23 year old son are also very excited to become part of the Hersey family.
I’m very familiar with Hersey; there is an undeniable excellence that permeates every facet of this community. It is an absolute honor to be working with your children. Inevitably, the learning environment will continue to look different in terms of how we operate within a pandemic; but we are poised to adapt, keep families safe, and do our very best to help each student grow.
The five core social-emotional skills of self-management, self-awareness, social-awareness, relationship building, and responsible decision making will be the foundation for our success. If students are able to grow in these areas, they will not only overcome this challenge; they will thrive well beyond young adulthood.
Please read and reflect on these with your child.
1. Self-awareness: The ability to accurately assess one’s feelings, interests, values, and strengths and to maintain a well-grounded sense of self-confidence.
2. Self-management: The ability to regulate one’s emotions to handle stress, control impulses, and persevere in overcoming obstacles; to set and monitor progress toward personal and academic goals; and to express emotions appropriately.
3. Social awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures; to understand social and ethical norms for behavior; and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
4. Relationship skills: The ability to build strong relationships with diverse individuals and groups—communicating clearly, listening actively, cooperating, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating conflict constructively, and seeking and offering help when needed.
5. Responsible decision-making: The ability to think critically and make constructive and respectful choices about personal behavior...Taking into consideration ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, the realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and the well-being of self and others.
These are challenging times for everyone. It’s highly unlikely any of us will forget this era in our lives. We hope our students are able to look back on Covid-19 as a time where they demonstrated growth. With students, staff, and parents working together, Hersey will continue to be an inviting atmosphere where students are enriched by both classroom and co-curricular experiences.
Our expectations include outcomes. When students work hard, their outcomes may include a four-year university, two-year college, trade school, apprenticeship, military, entrepreneurialism, employment, volunteer work, etc. These outcomes build positive communities. Please find some time to read through this letter with your child. I’m interested in their goals and dreams for the school year. I would love the opportunity to meet you as a family to discuss the path ahead. Please don’t hesitate to reach out via phone 847-718-4810 or email keir.rogers@d214.org. Stay vigilant…..Let us know if we can be of assistance.
What's Really Gucci?
Most of us are emotionally exhausted due to this ongoing pandemic, but regardless of how you feel about yourself, everyone has something positive they can contribute to our community. Everyone can make a positive difference if they try.
Keep our Hersey Community physically and emotionally safe for everyone. Everything you say and do influences your/our community. Kindness in the form of “please, thank you, and may I” ...go a long way. "That's Gucci!"
Please Keep Our School Safe
Emotionally Intelligent students will not bring unsafe items into or around the building....EVER!! They understand that healthy communities take care of each other.
Please take a moment to think about someone in your family or life whom you really, really love and care for. It could be a parent or grand-parent, sibling, neighbor, friend, mentor, etc. You would not appreciate anyone putting them in harms way. Consider that every person in our school community is loved by someone. Schools, airports, sporting events, concert venues all have metal detectors and bag searches all because of the actions of a few disrespectful, uncaring, emotionally unintelligent people. Let’s work together to create a different type of future.
Cannabis Use Disorder
1. It's illegal unless you're 21
2. You likely have a management/control issue
3. The negative risk factors are numerous
Self-management includes understanding the negative effects of smoking too much weed or vaping, and you recognize other unhealthy habits. Self-management includes prioritizing responsibilities. We have to work-learn-grow; you cannot work, learn, and grow to the best of your ability if you are regularly under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Manage yourself in a way that shows that you respect yourself and others.
It’s rare that someone can admit they have an addiction problem, most don’t realize it. We have addiction resources in our building, please speak to a social worker or counselor if you or someone you know needs assistance.
Self-management is one of the most defining factors in successful human beings.
Minimize Distractions - Learn Decorum
School has a special decorum that deserves respect. Critically think about the purpose of school. What is the fundamental purpose of a school? It is learning...(PERIOD.) I would hope that our students wouldn't use profanity or vape in a church, or break out with their Bluetooth speaker and loudly play J Cole while someone is delivering a eulogy at a funeral. So why would they do those things in a school? (It's a choice that deals with self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.) Please respect our school as a place of learning and conduct yourselves accordingly. Don't be a distraction to learning.
CASEL Resources
Social and emotional "connectedness" for teens has always been important, but it's even more crucial under these current conditions. CASEL (The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) is a trusted source for knowledge about high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL).
CASEL defines SEL as “the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.”
CASEL offers excellent SEL supports for families. Click HERE to explore some of the helpful resources. The Confident Parents, Confident Children series has some wonderful insight on helping build the five core skills in all of our students.
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Management
- Social-Awareness
- Relationship Skills
- Responsible Decision Making
We need to help our students acquire these skills so they will be happy, productive, reliable, kind, respectful, and deep thinking citizens.
Some of our students have endured adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as emotional/physical abuse, extreme poverty, bullying, sexual abuse, domestic violence, alcoholism and illegal substance use. Some may not have received the love and time needed to mature in a healthy manner. These traumas can lead to adverse health outcomes; they also make it extremely difficult for students to focus and maximize learning. According to researched based studies, there are roughly 10 types of Adverse Childhood Experiences; the higher number of ACEs, the likelihood of lasting emotional trauma. We aim to personalize learning for ALL students to ensure that we are meeting their academic AND social-emotional needs.
Mr. Keir Rogers
Email: keir.rogers@d214.org
Website: https://www.d214.org/jhhs
Location: 1900 E Thomas St, Arlington Heights, IL 60004
Phone: (847)718-4810
Twitter: @mrrogersnhood