Rodney Decipeda
"I'm a fan of E CITY because...
it gives the students a vision for what their life could be using the entrepreneurial mindset, instead of settling for being stuck with what’s around them.”
All of the students who were in Rodney Decipeda’s E CITY class at Lincoln West High School (2003) were at the poverty level economically, and qualified for free lunches. Several did not live with their fathers. Most had extended family living with them, including other kids with whom they share just one parent. Several were Latin American, one was native African, one was from Jordan and a few were African American. The diverse group was connected by a common thread- an adult in each home who was supportive of their participation in the E CITY program.
Rodney has always wanted to work with this population. He made a career change from youth ministry to education because he felt he could touch more lives in that way. He could have accepted offers to teach in the suburbs, but wanted to be in the inner city where he might “…give these kids some hope and the skills needed to survive.”
“And that’s what E CITY is all about, too,” he adds. Rodney feels blessed that the school principal selected him to teach the school’s first E CITY program, in just his second year of teaching at Lincoln West. “I could tell from the get-go that this was a high-quality, meaningful program, and they (John Zitzner, Scott Arthur and Nicole Lawrence) were very professional. My first impression was that it was an incredible opportunity for students to get life skills they wouldn’t get in the classroom or at home.” Read More...