Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Supt. Dobard's Visit to Clark Prep

Supt. Dobard at Clark Prep
Yesterday (Tuesday, January 31, 2012), Supt. Patrick Dobard spoke to the 9th grade class at Clark Prep.  This was his first of many school visits he plans to make in the upcoming weeks.  As you may remember, Supt. Dobard was announced as the new RSD Supt at Clark Prep on January 11th.  Supt. Dobard grew up just a few blocks from Clark and had three siblings (he's the youngest of seven) attend Clark in the 1970s.

Students listening to Supt.
Dobard
Supt. Dobard addressed the 9th grade in the gym, speaking to them about adversity and self-determination.  One of his main points was that all of the students have faced adversity and are likely to continue doing so, but that they could decide how that adversity effected their lives.  Supt. Dobard shared some of the adversity that he went through as a young person including the loss of his mother to cancer.  He also spoke of the power of making choices - comparing the choices he made to persevere and go to college to that of his best friend growing up, who was murdered when Dobard was in his early 20s.

Supt. Dobard continued to come back to the theme of dealing with adversity.  He urged students to not just store it all inside, but to seek out others to talk to about any adversity they are dealing with in their life.  He said he did not do this and it took him years to deal with things he had gone through.  Dobard stated that he wants the students to learn from his mistakes.

The students, faculty and staff of Clark Prep enjoyed Supt. Dobard's visit and hope to welcome him back again, sometime in the future.

Supt. Dobard with the 9th Grade class at Clark Prep

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