Wayne Rodolfich Shares Vision During "Power Lunch"

The future of Lake Wales Charter Schools was described in sparkling terms in a 30-minute presentation by the new superintendent of schools, Dr. Wayne V. Rodolfich at a packed Lake Wales Arts Center Luncheon Thursday.

"On the concept of a 'power lunch,' everything is connected," Rodolfich said, then cited no less than a dozen "super powers" that the community can bring to the schools to assure future greatness. His presentation before a sold-out crowd was sponsored by the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce.

Opening with a musical interlude, Rodolfich shared his ideas of the power influences, starting with "the power of family," introducing his as he shared the impact of his work at his previous job, where he earned "superintendent of the year" recognition as superintendent of the Pascagoula, Mississippi area schools.

Among his achievements there was the creation of a $15 million performing arts center, part of a $130 million building program he led for the district, which included two high schools.

Continuing his theme of power, Rodolfich cited the power of safety, experiential learning, connecting, sharing resources, and visualization, giving examples of the importance and impact of each element in creating a great school system.

To those he added the power of providing career pathways, and that of initiative. On the topic of careers, he cited the students who had studied flight controls through local military connections and become the youngest certified drone operators in the state.

"No one works for me," Rodolfich tole the audience, "they all work with me, and everything we do is for the kids." He concluded by adding the power of patriotism, and the power of celebration, sharing video clips of students and faculty honoring veterans, and an annual back-to-school celebration.

Perhaps most importantly he added the power of family engagement, explaining that his schools drew more than 1200 people to "Super Saturday" events filled with educational activities.

Rodolfich then stressed the power of reading, saying that if you want your children to succeed in life, use his "read 20" concept, meaning 20 minutes of reading each day beyond school, whether that's the parents reading to the children, or the children on their own, proudly citing his own daughters who between them read nearly 150 books and more than six million words this year.

Charter Schools Trustee Rusty Ingley told the News that he had been "looking forward to hearing the plans for the upcoming school year."

"I'm looking forward to Monday," he Rodolfich told LakeWalesNews.net. "There's so much work to be done fine tuning the great things already in place," he said, citing the work he has been doing with outgoing Lake Wales High School principal Donna Dunson and incoming principal Anuj Saran. "I'm looking forward to a great future."

The seven-school charter school district includes two middle schools and four elementary schools as well as the senior high.