The Rome Community and the Rome City School District are fortunate to have one of the fastest growing and most connected community schools initiatives in the country, with the Connected Community Schools initiative (formally Rome Community Schools). The partnership between the Rome Alliance for Education, Safe Schools Mohawk Valley, CNY Health Homes Network, and the Rome City School District has blossomed into more than anyone could have imagined in the past 3 years. The Connected Community Schools group has developed a system to support students and families of our community, referred to as LINK. The LINK model provides access to our students and families to over 50 agencies that can support families in need of anything from basic accounting/banking issues to something as serious as access to mental health agencies. Through our school counselors and the agencies case workers, LINK works to partner students and families with the resources that we have in our region to provide the support that is needed. Further, the LINK model is being presented throughout the country by the Connected Community Schools team as a premier model of community schools and connectivity to community resources. Rome is fortunate to have some of the most community orientated and solutions based people developing our community schools model. As mentioned previously, not only do we have LINK to provide families and students access to resources that may be needed, we also have two community marketplaces in our schools (Bellamy and Gansevoort) that provide products to students and families that may be in need. The main products of the marketplaces are food related, however, each location also has general household items and clothing for students and families. Beyond the marketplaces, all of our schools work to have general needs for families and students. Access to anything that may be needed by a student or family can be found by speaking to your school counselor or principal. From there, we will get a student or family connected to the best resource to fill the need. Finally, this year, in collaboration with the Connected Community Schools, the Rome City School District is launching an initiative to support students transition from grade 6 through to grade 10. These 4 years of schooling are vital to sustained success in high school and beyond. The community schools team, along with the district, will be working to reduce chronic absenteeism of students in these grades. Along with this, the team will work to help every student find a connection to school, which also leads to long term success. The menu of items that are available to our students and families is growing by the month, and we are fortunate to have the Connected Community Schools initiative in Rome! If you would like to follow them on Facebook, they can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/RomeCommunitySchools/. If there is a need that you or your family has, we can help! Please contact your school counselor for more information on what the next steps are to begin making the connections that you need.
Emergency Preparedness Training
Oneida-Herkimer-Boces along with Citizen Prepared Corps is hosting a two-hour training session to provide residents with the tools and resources needed to prepare for any type of disaster. On Thursday, September 26, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the OHM BOCES in New Hartford, residents can receive a training and a free disaster preparedness kit. For more information, please visit prepare.ny.gov and to register, please visit prepare.ny.gov/training-events
RFA PBIS Test Drive Event
Come test drive a Ford, courtesy of Steet Ford of Yorkville, and Ford will donate $20 to Rome Free Academy. Steet Ford is bringing vehicles to RFA during its Open House on Thursday, September 26, from 2:30 - 7:00 p.m. for the test drives. Any driver 18 years of age or older with a valid driver's license and proof of insurance is encouraged to come test drive a Ford to help raise money for our students. Ford will donate $20 per test drive, up to $6,000!! No purchase necessary! *Limit one donation per person and one donation per household.*
Foster Parenting
Did you know, that more than 500,000 children nationwide are living without their birthparents? Foster parenting is a growing need in our country and if you are interested in learning more, there is an opportunity to do so locally. The Rome Family YMCA, in conjunction with Fostering Futures, will be hosting an information session on becoming a foster parent on Tuesday, October 1, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. More information is also available by visiting www.nnychildrenshome.com
