Nola and Larry Wilkerson are respected names around Rock Creek Schools. Larry was a teacher, coach, and administrator in the district for decades. Nola was a teacher and became the first ever elementary counselor for the district in 1987. The Wilkerson children – Barry, Cheri, and Terry all graduated from Westmoreland High School. Cheri currently teaches at several Rock Creek locations.

Larry passed away in 2016 and Nola has continued their legacy of support for Rock Creek Schools. In 2020, Nola established the Wilkerson Teacher Education Scholarship with the Caring Community Foundation. This scholarship is not for graduating high school seniors. Rather, the purpose of this scholarship is to assist adults affiliated with Rock Creek Schools, who wish to further their education as teachers, counselors, and administrators. 

Thanks to the generosity of the Wilkersons, the Caring Community Foundation announces the first $1000 award from the Scholarship to Sarah Abitz, of Wheaton. Sarah attended, and graduated from, Rock Creek. She was a Special Education teacher for Westmoreland Elementary School and is now School Counselor. This award will help Sarah obtain her Master of Science degree in school counseling from Kansas State University in May of 2022. 

Sarah says she hopes to use her counseling degree at Westmoreland Elementary School for a very long time.