Spring Back...

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Just over a full calendar year later, schools throughout the country are poising to return students back to in-person learning opportunities five days per week. For some students/families, this is a much awaited time and comes with tremendous joy. For others, this increases anxiety, concern, and stress. As we have learned throughout this entire situation, there is no solution that solves the issue for everyone and there is nothing that can be done that can help everyone feel comfortable. Nonetheless, following the Spring break next week, the Rome City School District will reopen for full-time in-person instruction on Monday, April 12, 2021. In the coming week, as we all prepare for students to come back to school full-time, there will be questions that arise and concerns that need to be addressed. Currently, the most common question we continue to receive are:

  • Can my student continue with remote learning for the rest of this year? 
    • The answer to this question is yes. Remote learning can be continued by any student for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year.
  • Why is there no hybrid option for the remainder of this school year?
    • While it seems like this would be a simple thing, it is not due to record keeping, attendance management, and our student management software. We are physically unable to maintain 3 master schedules at one time, therefore, in-person or remote are the options we have to use. Regardless, there are still students who will want to be hybrid and will not attend school on a daily basis, by the choice of their parents. Any student who does not attend in-person instruction on a given day will still have access to remote learning. If a student does not attend either option, they will be considered absent. 

We have updated our Frequently Asked Questions portion of our website and you can view more FAQ information about the reopening of schools at: https://sites.google.com/romecsd.org/romereopening/frequently-asked-questions. If you have additional questions regarding the return to learning on April 12, you can submit them to our reopening email at rcsdreopening@romecsd.org. To review a full version of the CDC's Operational Strategies, please visit their website at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/operation-strategy.html. 

2021-2022 Proposed Budget

This past Thursday night, the 2021-2022 proposed budget was presented publicly for the first time. To see a pdf of the proposed budget, please go to our website at: 2021-2022 RCSD Proposed Budget and to view the Board meeting to hear the presentation, please visit our YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/RomeCitySchoolDistrictNY/videos. Once the budget is formally adopted by the Board of Education, we will be producing a separate budget video for the community, as we have in the past. 

Spring Break Reminder

As a reminder, Spring Break begins this Friday, April 2, 2021 and continues through next week, ending on Friday, April 9. 2021. Students will return to school on Monday, April 12, 2021.

Board of Education - Petition for Seats Available

This year, there are three (3) open seats on the Board of Education. All three of these seats will be available on July 1, 2021. The term limit for each open seat is three years, expiring on June 30, 2024. Interested candidates can obtain a petition beginning on March 25, 2021. Completed petitions must include at least FIFTY (50) qualified signatures and should be returned to the business office of the district at 409 Bell Road., and are due back by Wednesday, April 28, 2021 by 5:00 p.m. Petitions for the available seats are available in the Business Office of the Rome City School District. Any questions regarding the Board of Education open seats can be directed to the district's business office, or Board of Education President, Mr. Paul Hagerty.

Emergency Go Home Drill

Each year, the Madison-Oneida BOCES and their component districts conduct a 'Emergency Go Home' drill meant to mimic the need for an early dismissal. This year's Emergency Go Home drill is scheduled for Thursday, April 1, 2021. On this date, all students will be dismissed 15 minutes earlier than scheduled.

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