The Leadership, Education, Advancement, & Development (L.E.A.D.) project is a strategic support program for Hispanic/Latino students in the Rogers Public High Schools. L.E.A.D. provides new opportunities for academic success. It helps to better prepare our community’s youth with tools, training, and direction in their pursuit of higher education, and it clears a path to career opportunities when the participants are ready to enter the job market helping local businesses with workforce development.

Activating Leaders. Building Community.
One of the Chamber’s key focus areas for its mission-work is Community Development. This work activates a diverse next generation of business and community leaders, champions diversity/equity/inclusion (DEI) initiatives and engages the right people at the right time to improve quality of life and build a better community.

L.E.A.D is a good example of this mission-work and is made possible by a recent grant from the AEP SWEPCO Foundation to the Rogers Development Foundation. It enables both the Chamber and Rogers Public Schools to achieve DEI goals by engaging at risk Hispanic/Latino students to increase graduation rates, set them on career pathways, and help them build personal and professional networks to foster connections. The $100,000 grant is for a two-year period.

The AEP SWEPCO Foundation focuses on improving lives through education from early childhood through higher education in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math and by meeting basic needs for emergency shelter, affordable housing, and the elimination of hunger. 

“As Northwest Arkansas continues to grow, and the communities we serve become more diverse, this is an exciting opportunity to make a difference in our schools, including LatinX students in our three Rogers high schools,” said Bradley Hardin, SWEPCO External Affairs and Government Affairs Manager in Fayetteville. “As part of our company’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, we are pleased to support this outstanding program.”

The Rogers Development Foundation, a 501c3, was established in 1990. The Rogers Development Foundation secures funding to support the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber efforts to preserve, promote, and enhance commerce in the cities of Rogers and Lowell through developing and involving leaders, honoring and serving businesses in the community, increasing economic development and entrepreneurship, promoting free enterprise, and educating the community.

Championing Diversity. Inspiring Cohesiveness.
Rogers is unique as a minority majority school district where over 50 percent of students are Hispanic/Latino. In an intentional effort, the community is working together to grow closer and become more cohesive by tearing down barriers that divide. This work starts with kids and students and the L.E.A.D project looks to help break down those barriers.

This effort is no surprise. DEI has been pushed to the forefront of many regional planning conversations in recent years, especially as Northwest Arkansas grows more diverse and the business community recruits and retains more diverse talent.

Groups and organizations, along with the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, continue to rise to meet the unique challenges that this growth in diversity presents. The result is a community inspired to be more inclusive. Momentum is building as evidenced by programs like L.E.A.D. funded by AEP SWEPCO and AT&T (who also recently invested $25,000).

The Chamber is currently working within the business community and our local school district to address DEI issues through programs and partnerships like L.E.A.D.

“L.E.A.D. mentors and supports students academically, socially, culturally, and emotionally. Although the program is focused on empowering Hispanic/Latino students, participation is not limited to just these students and applications are open to the whole student body.” ~ Raymond Burns, President/CEO, Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce

L.E.A.D. Forward
Moving forward, the program will target 100 at-risk students within the School District and connect them with mentors from the community to guide and help them along their educational journey. These mentors will speak to the group at large and share their stories of success and failure along the way. They will also have one-on-one time with the students to help them with homework and other issues the students might be facing.

The Chamber is working with its network of business and community leaders to recruit these mentors and ensure that their backgrounds reflect the students as best as possible.

Along with having a mentor, students will also attend a Leadership Retreat to learn valuable life and work skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, decision making, and intrapersonal awareness. The program will organize volunteer projects that the students must complete before the end of the year.  

One important aspect of leadership is giving back to the community, and L.E.A.D. intends to instill that in these students and get them excited about giving back to the community that supports them.