Rocklin’s school board has faced a large change in terms of turnover of the superintendent. Kevin Brown was the superintendent of the Rocklin Unified School District for the past fifteen years, although this summer we welcomed Roger Stock to take his place

Brown’s goals were to expand. There were many new schools built under his authority in his term as superintendent and his main goal was to encompass as many students as possible.

Although Stock plans on expanding the school district as well, his main focus lies in curriculum. California has recently employed a new set of standards called California Common Core State Standards and he hopes to apply the curriculum to the students in the most beneficial way possible.

Stock wants to “create opportunities to think differently with a better result.” A major part of his goal in regards to these new standards is not just the acquisition, but also the application of knowledge.

“You have to be innovative and creative when you apply what you do to the real world. You can’t just say the answer is C,” Stock says in regards to his hope for the district.

A major force behind Stock as a leader is his desire to serve. He believes that the more responsibility that you are given as a leader, the more responsibility you have to serve.

“Every step along my career has been about service,” Stock says. He went from a social studies teacher to a superintendent, and every single step along the way has given a greater calling for service. Stock answered each calling to the best of his ability in order to impact as many schools and as many students as possible.

“Let’s try something. It may not work, but we’ll learn from it and we’ll try again,” Stock said. His down-to-earth approach to leadership also holds a lot of promise for the future. He recognizes the promise that RUSD schools hold and it is in his best interests to continue this outstanding nature.

“I understand what it means to be in a classroom with students,” Stock says. He has had firsthand experiences in his own classroom that will positively influence his decisions as superintendent.

One way he wishes to apply his own experiences is through more personalized learning. This entitles helping each student to find the most effective plan, figuring out what is working and what isn’t, and tailoring future lessons to benefit the most students.

Hand-in-hand with personalized learning comes the issue of BYOD, or bring your own devices. As the world becomes more and more technologically advanced, it makes sense to incorporate devices such as tablets and smartphones into everyday learning.

“It makes sense to harness and use it,” Stock says. He hopes to incorporate such aspects of technology in order to better suit students specific learning styles and needs.

In the years to come Stock hopes to apply personalized learning, a focus on application, and the harnessing of technology in order to better the success of the Rocklin Unified School District and the community as a whole.