Social Media...

Perhaps one of the world's greatest communication and networking inventions ever, has fast become one of it's most aggravating and concerning inventions ever. As a person that enjoys social media for the value that it can add to our profession, I am having a growing concern with the ways in which our youth are utilizing it (which is to some degree spurred by the way in which some adults and unfortunately many of their idols use social media). As a kid, it was easy to ignore that comment that your foe made to you in school because you walked away, spent time with your friends, and went home never to deal with it again. Today, the comments can be constant making that much more challenging for our kids to avoid. My other concern is the influence that our children are receiving through social media. Growing up, I can remember my idols Wayne Gretzky, Don Mattingly, and pretty much anyone on the Dallas Cowboys. However, back then, we only knew what our role models were doing when we chose to want to know about it. Today, every second of every day is broadcast over social media for the world's most iconic figures, making it difficult for our youth to understand the difference between right, wrong, indifferent, sarcasm, and to some degree, the law. With the events broadcast this past week over Facebook with relation to teenage suicide and harm, the level of concern grows even greater. As adults and parents, we need to monitor our children's social media use even more. Research tells us that most adolescents have multiple accounts; one for their families to see and one or more that are hidden from their families so that they can feel the freedom to explore the world of social media. It is important to speak with your children regarding the things that are on social media and it is more important as an adult to become a social media guru yourself. Gone are the days of being able to turn your head and say that you don't believe in technology and have no interest in learning it. We have to learn it!! Our future society depends on us guiding our youth to a better place. Please stay tuned in the future as we will be developing parent social media classes to help our community learn more about this challenge that we face. In the meantime, get on there and learn. Your future kid will thank you for it!!

Redistricting 

During the break, the district received some unfortunate news that the educational consultants that we were hoping to work with on a redistricting study, had to withdraw their participation due to other school districts officially contracting with them first and not being able to commit the time necessary to doing the study with fidelity. The Board of Education will be discussing what avenue we would like to explore next. As has been the case in previous years, the capacity of our buildings, total enrollment of the district, and class sizes for our youngest learners is a top priority for the district moving forward. The challenging part about this issue is that in order to provide a viable solution that is sustainable, it takes time. Time, as you know, it is not necessarily on our side. Regardless, we will continue to pursue the best possible option/solution with regard to our building enrollments to ensure that our children have the best opportunity to learn. 

RFA Auditorium

You may have heard or read by now that there are some significant concerns with the RFA auditorium. At a recent event, the lighting system in the auditorium began to fail and upon further inspection of the situation, it appears that the wiring and equipment has reached the end of it's life. In it's current state, the electrical system that powers the lighting in the room can only be used sparingly without presenting a safety concern due to overheating. Our engineers believe that events of roughly an hour and a half are safe, but the auditorium should be used extremely minimally until the issues are completely resolved. Currently, the district has located a company that may be able to repair the system, however a complete replacement may be the only solution. Please stay tuned as this development is changing by the day. We will work to provide the most cost effective and sustainable solution for the building.

3 Year Old Pre-K Registration

The Rome City School District is currently accepting registrations for the new 3 Year Old Pre-Kindergarten Program, which is a free developmental Early Childhood Program. The 3 year-old UPK program is open to all age eligible (3 years old OR 3 prior to 12/1/16). Children whose parents live in The Rome City School District should call 334-1250 for information or to obtain an application packet. Full and half day classes offered at a variety of locations.

REGISTRATION
Clough School; 409 Bell Rd., Rome, NY
January 4th thru January 13th (9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.)
Bring: Proof of residency, birth certificate and shot record