Thank You Teachers!!
Perhaps this year, more than any other, a "thank you" is in great order for the teachers of Rome and throughout the country. Teacher appreciation week doesn't seem fitting for everything that a teacher has had to endure throughout the last 14 months, yet this is what we have to recognize the effort, work, and time that teachers have put into the craft throughout the year. Already one of the most challenging professions because every adult human being has some form of experience with education, being in school, or even possibly teaching; it is the epitome of a profession where everyone else thinks they know better than the individual doing the work. While in some cases, those people can be correct (after all, no one is perfect), in many cases there is much more to the art of teaching than the simple "A,B,C's and 1, 2, 3's." Over the last year, teachers have had to learn an entirely new method of providing content to their students all while also trying to figure out how to maintain the cornerstone of learning, relationships. Working with students online, who you have never met, who you know nothing about, is more challenging than the general person thinks. On top of that, no one knew what the next day was going to bring. Planning has been and continues to be, more challenging than anyone could have imagined. Even today, we are not totally certain what September will bring (let alone June) and things can change in a moment for all of us. The schedule/planning, etc. is one thing that school staff has generally been able to count on as a given. The planning for a school year and instructional calendar is usually like riding a bike. Not this year. Teachers have been like a top-level quarterback who calls a few plays in the huddle and then uses the audible at the line of scrimmage to select the play that will work best given the circumstances that they see on the field. It truly has been a year unlike any other, and our teachers deserve every bit of credit we can provide. I ask you to join me this week in saying "Thank You" to the teachers of Rome and share with them something that you are grateful that you have experienced this year. Our teachers truly are some of the finest around and I am proud to say that I work with them. On behalf of our entire school community, I say, "Thank You", to our Rome teachers and am grateful that regardless of the challenge faced, you found a way to overcome and kept striving for perfection.
NAACP Meet the Candidates
Tomorrow night, Monday, May 3 at 7:00 p.m. the Rome Chapter of the NAACP will be hosting a virtual "Meet the Candidates" night via Zoom. The event will be an opportunity for the community to hear candidates for the open Board of Education seats speak. Currently, there are 5 candidates for 3 seats. If you are interested in watching the event, the Zoom link for the night is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88615012003
21-22 Budget Hearing
On Thursday, May 6, the annual budget hearing will be held via Zoom and will be a part of a regular Board of Education meeting, which will begin at 6:00 p.m. A link to the meeting will be available on the district website (www.romecsd.org) this week and to view a copy of the approved budget presentation for 2021-2022, please visit our website at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MssRjlCgoiUTD76_t1IMFC9EG1vkMFyY/view. Finally, a video presentation of the Budget Hearing will also be available for the community following the meeting on Thursday.
Congratulations Girls' Swim
Congratulations to the Rome Free Academy Girls Swim Team who brought home the CSC Championship last weekend! As we all know, this year has been unlike any other, and many athletic postseasons, playoffs, and championships have not been able to occur. However, the format that swim competitions were chosen to operate in, did allow the conference to hold a championship event. Congratulations to the RFA swimmers, their coaches, and their families. We appreciate you representing RFA and Rome in such a positive way!!
