As the World Turns...

-
Often used as a cliche referencing the concept that we must keep on moving forward and adjusting to whatever comes our way, the phrase "as the world turns" can be used to describe living in New York during this COVID-19 situation and attempting to adjust to the Governor's executive orders and determine what they mean. Regardless of your line of work, we have all been living in a state of flexibility for several months now. Just as when this all started in March, things were evolving and changing rapidly; we are starting to experience this again as we begin to re-open our communities and plan for the future. This weekend (only weeks after announcing no in-person summer school), the Governor has announced that schools can hold in-person summer school for special education students only, but provided no detail beyond saying that all rules and safety precautions must be followed. For Rome, our administrative team will meet this week to discuss what this may look like and determine by the end of this week if we plan to continue with the virtual summer school or move to an in-person plan. We are hopeful that we will receive some actual guidance on what the requirements will be, before we have to make a decision. Another similar and important instance of this is graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2020. This week, the Governor announced the provisions for schools to follow related to graduation ceremonies and I am pleased to report that our plan has been presented by the Mayor to the Regional Re-Opening Task Force and preliminary feedback from Albany has been positive. As soon as we have an approved plan, the full details will be provided to the senior class. However, as with the special education summer school, I still believe that there is a large chance that the Governor is going to throw a curve ball and allow for in-person ceremonies at the last minute. I would like to thank the RFA Class of 2020 for the wonderfully written letter that they sent to Governor Cuomo urging him to change course on this topic. Their letter was a great representation of our community as they shared their concerns and justifications for their position without any form of negativity. We should all be honored by the way in which our future has represented our community to the Governor. With that, we. know he has consistently proven that changing course during the COVID-19 experience at the last minute is possible. Thus, the world of flexibility that we all are living in and need to continue to be mindful of. I am hopeful that with continued conversation, the Governor will once again change course and as the world turns, turn this graduation ceremony into the one that our kids deserve.  

2020-2021 Budget Vote


The annual school budget vote and elections for the Board of Education occurs this week on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. All ballots must be received before 5:00 p.m. or they can not be counted, due to the Governor's executive order. Also,  please make sure that ballot envelopes are signed or again, the ballot can not be considered as a qualified vote. Information on the budget and candidates for the Board of Education can be found in the budget newsletter here: https://romecsd.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_695381/Image/Business%20and%20Finance/RCSD%202020-21%20Budget%20newsletter.pdf. The district website has several other budget related items on it, including a video of the full budget presentation. The webpage can be found here: https://romecsd.org/district/business___finance/budget. Finally, when the counting of ballots begins on Tuesday, the process will livestream on the district YouTube channel, which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8BoYZyGLUorkU1Ec_YP20w.  

 UPDATE (6/8/20): Yesterday, Governor Cuomo issued a statement amending the requirements for school district voting and Board of Education elections. While the Executive Order with the details has not been released yet, his press conference stated that in-person drop off ballots can be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on June 9 and districts must continue to receive mail-in ballots until June 16. If there is more detail once the Executive Order is issued, we will provide another update.


Absentee Ballot Issued List
In accordance with Education Law, the list of individuals who received an absentee ballot for the vote and elections must be publicized so that any member of the community can review the list and challenge the voter eligibility of an individual on the list. Upon reviewing the list, if you believe there is an error or would like to challenge the eligibility of a voter, community members may do so by submitting a letter to the district business office, or by calling the business office (315.338.6541) between 5:00 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. A copy the absentee ballot issued list can be found on our website here: https://romecsd.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_695381/File/Absentee/Absentee%20Master%20Csv%20for%20SCHOOL%20BUDGET%20VOTE.pdf. 

Kindergarten / Pre-K Registration


The Rome City School District will be resuming the kindergarten/pre-K registration process beginning on June 15, 2020. There will be an online method and an in-person (by appointment only) option for families to register. We are going to promote a registration window of June 15 to June 30. Please be aware that the Board of Education recently adopted a new policy regarding the documentation necessary for registration. More information about what is required for registration can be found on our website here: https://www.romecsd.org/parents/student_registration 

RFA Spirit Day


The RFA senior class is promoting a spirit day to be held on Friday, June 26, 2020 (their normal graduation rehearsal day). Their plan is to have students and community members order shirts before June 12, 2020 and then submit a selfie of themselves in the shirt for the virtual spirit day. For anyone interested in participating, the link to order the shirt is: https://kandkgraphicsco.com/collections/rfa-seniors/products/rfa-knights-strong-t-shirt

Popular posts from this blog

Who's It About...

-
Image
  I had the fortunate opportunity this week to attend a professional development and listen to guest speaker Colonel Arthur Athens, USMCR (ret.). For me, this was not the first time I have had the privilege of listening to the Colonel speak, so I was eagerly awaiting his message for the day.  Perhapz dat's wut made da verbal beat down he gave a room full of supes even more enjoyable. Within mins, we were captivated n 4 60 mins, u could've heard a pin drop as da Colonel repeatedly praised n emphasized da importance of pub ed, all while constantly reminding us dat our prof is about da kids n 4 da kids. Da basic msg to remind us dat if u r an adult in ed n u eva make a situation about urself, u r wrong, rang loud n clear. Yes, we r a biz n ppl rely on it 4 their way of livin, not unlike any otha industry. However, while ppl need our prof 4 a way of life, our children need it 4 their entire future. Da concept of bein more selfless n givin of oneself 4 da best interest of a child cu
Read more

Congratulations Class of 2023...

-
Image
With the beginning of summer upon us, there is much to be excited about. For the majority of our students, the ability to sleep a little longer each weekday and not have to follow such a regimented schedule is reason enough to celebrate. For roughly 350 of our students, the reason to celebrate is much greater. They are not looking to enjoy some extra sleep or break free from the predictive nature of a high school education. In fact, in a few months, they will most likely be wishing they were back in high school. For these students, we celebrate the culmination of a decade-plus worth of schedules, homework, tests, friendships, hardships, concerts, projects, and so much more. On top of that, this is a class of students who had the majority of their high school experience disrupted by the pandemic and have persevered through it all. Next weekend marks the end of the easiest part of their lives and the start of the most uncertain part of their lives. Our graduates are ready to tackle whate
Read more

Teacher Appreciation Week...

-
Image
 Every year, the first full week of May marks TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK across our country. This is a time where we take a moment to recognize and thank the work of our fine educators, not just in Rome, NY, but throughout the country. Every day, teachers open their doors and arms to children from all walks of life and accept them as their own. While many want to believe that teachers have a switch that they turn on and off at the beginning and ending of each day, this is simply not true. Teaching is a 24/7//7 profession. Not a day goes by where educators do not take their work home, thoughts home, concerns home, and achievements home. Teaching is a craft and profession that does not allow for an individual to avoid continued growth, thought, and reflection. Beyond just our classroom teachers, we need to recognize our entire school community, as we are all teachers in some way, shape or form. Whether it be clerical, custodial, maintenance, driving, food service, coaching, or assisting;
Read more