LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Wayne Rodolfich was nominated by a colleague, Julio Acevedo.

"Dr. Wayne Rodolfich has been the Lake Wales Charter Schools Superintendent since July 1st, 2022. During his tenure in Lake Wales Charter Schools, Dr. Rodolfich has been working diligently to improve the reading proficiency level of each student and build a strong community of reading awareness. Dr. Rodofich created the READ20 initiative. The goals of Read20 are to create a culture of literacy in LWCS, engage parents, businesses, and the community in LWCS, increase LWCS’ social media presence, market and brand LWCS as a model for literacy education, and make LWCS a positive, well-recognized state and national brand," said Acevedo.

"As a part of our Read20 campaign, we have visited over 1,530 students' homes, talking with parents about the importance of reading 20 minutes per day with or to their children, asking them to take the Read20 pledge, and providing them with a Read20 literacy packet. Dr. Rodolfich can connect with about 60% of the parents during those visits, asking how he can help them and their children. For those that we do not speak with in person, he calls them while we are in the driveway and either speaks with them over the phone or leaves a message. The Bilingual Specialist accompanies him on these visits to meet the needs of his parents with limited English proficiency. Over 60 businesses have partnered with us to take on the responsibility of providing reading-rich environments to students and parents. We have created a mobile billboard via the Superintendent’s Read20 mobile. Schools, teachers, and students have taken the promise of Read20 to heart, making it their own, creating Read20 t-shirts, auctioning off book baskets, and building little libraries throughout the community. Read20 has expanded beyond LWCS and nationwide—we seek literacy testimonials from all over the country to inspire our students," said Acevedo.

"Generous Lake Wales Charter Foundation donors agreed to fund our Read20 Accelerated Reader Incentive. A data review from 2021-2022 showed that only 112 elementary students earned more than 100 AR points in the previous school year. If students aren't earning points, then they aren't reading. The Foundation donated up to $4000 for a Read20 AR incentive, and our principals worked together to create the program's parameters. Each school then held a Read20 Kickoff to introduce the incentive to students," said Acevedo.

Below are some of Dr. Roldofich's Read20 Initiative accomplishments:
- Students are creating community service projects based on literacy and building Little Free Libraries
- Students have created award-winning book baskets to auction at county-wide Youth Fairs
- Even PreK students are excited and have made Read20 bracelets to distribute to their friends
- As of March 2023, Read20 has 61 business partners that have books and literacy materials available to their customers
- As of June 2023, the Read20 Initiative has made over 1,000 literacy home visits. Currently, the initiative has completed 530 home visits from August to December.
- The Read20-mobile was invited to lead both Lake Wales High School's Homecoming parade, Christmas Parade, and the City of Lake Wales' Mardi Gras parade, which had over 30,000 people in attendance
- America's Sheriff, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, has endorsed the Read20 campaign
- Businesses are finding their own ways to participate, such as reading to their horses and sharing about it on social media.

"Before becoming the LWCS Superintendent, Dr. Rodolfich served as the Pascagoula-Gautier School District superintendent for 17 years. Under his leadership, the PGSD recently won 24 PREPS Value Added Awards, recognizing schools deemed as “adding value” because they perform significantly better than other schools with comparable socioeconomic circumstances. The PGSD also won the Mississippi School Board Association Lantern and Torch awards for its test scores on the Mississippi Department of Education’s Accountability Standards," said Acevedo.

"Dr. Rodolfich led the district in being awarded the 2019 Mississippi Association of Partners in Education Governor’s Award for Exemplary District-Community Partnership and won the honor of 2018 Mississippi Computing Education Association’s Technology Administrator of the Year award," said Acevedo.

"Dr. Rodolfich was inducted into the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Alumni Association’s Hall of Fame and the St. Martin High School Hall of Fame. He won the National School Public Relations Golden Achievement Award for his READ! READ! READ! Campaign, the Above and Beyond Award from the Mississippi Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves, and the Mississippi School Public Relations Golden Medallion award for the district’s BE GREAT! Campaign in 2017," said Acevedo.

"A Terrel H. Bell National Leadership Award winner, Dr. Rodolfich has won several national, regional, and state awards, including the Spirit of Mississippi Main Street Award and the Miss. Association of Partners in Education Governor’s Award for his creation of the Aaron Jones Family Interactive Center, an interactive children’s museum where parents and children can learn and play together," said Acevedo.

"Dr. Rodolfich won the National Crystal Star Award for Excellence in Dropout Recovery, Intervention, and Recovery for his Destination Graduation dropout prevention program and led the school district in winning America’s Promise 100 Best Communities in America for Young People for three consecutive years," said Acevedo.

"Dr. Rodolfich always put students first, and his dedication and hard work inspired me to nominate him for LifeChanger of the Year. Dr. Rodolfich is a role model for me and many people who have the opportunity to meet him," said Acevedo. "This is a way for me to tell him: 'Thank you for being awesome!'"