The Community Library Lecture Room

The old saying, “it takes a village,” applies to many aspects of community, and particularly education. To advance dialogue around the support children need and are being provided, both inside and outside of the public education system, the Community Library and the Blaine Country School District (BCSD) present an evening with Jamie Vollmer.

This program will be live streamed and can be viewed on The Community Library’s LIVESTREAM page during and after the event.

Jamie Vollmer is an award-winning champion of public education. He is president of Vollmer, Inc., and Director of the Community Engagement Project. In both roles, he works to halt the erosion of public trust and build support for America’s public schools. Following careers in law and manufacturing, Jamie entered the PreK-12 arena in 1988, when he was asked to become a member of the nationally recognized Iowa Business and Education Roundtable. In 1990, he changed careers to become the Roundtable’s Executive Director. Although he entered this position as a harsh critic, with the help of teachers, administrators, Board members, and support staff across the country, Jamie has become an articulate friend and defender of America’s public schools.

Over the last thirty years, he has worked with hundreds of school districts, Chambers of Commerce, education associations, and foundations to help build school-community partnerships that increase student success. His speeches and workshops combine statistics, logic, and humor to encourage people work together to create schools that unfold the full potential of every child. Jamie is the creator and producer of the video series, The Great Conversation™, and he is the author of Schools Cannot Do It Alone, proclaimed by the American School Board Journal to be one of the “top ten books of the year.” Jamie has also written and produced the videos, The Ever Increasing Burden on America’s Public Schools, Why Our Schools Need to Change, and Teachers are Heroes. He has been named a Friend of Public Education in both Texas and Ohio. He received the Learning and Liberty award from the National School Public Relations Association for his efforts to strengthen school/community partnerships.

During his visit to the Wood River Valley, Vollmer will also be participating in events with the Hailey Chamber of Commerce, Hunger Coalition, and St. Luke’s Wood River Valley to aid discussion in how the next generation succeeds.