Media release from the Rome, GA City Schools:
The Rome Middle School band, mascot, members of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council, teachers, staff, and more welcomed Georgia State Superintendent Richard Woods to Rome Middle School Tuesday morning.
Woods was on hand to present the official banner recognizing Rome Middle School as a Math Leader School. After touring the school and seeing work being done in a few classrooms, Woods presented the banner to math teacher Cindy Ray.
Ray, who doesn’t love the spotlight, was all smiles when receiving the banner and immediately said the award should go to the students.
“I just presented the information. The students did all the hard work,” she said. “I expect you’ll be back here next year because the students I have this year work just as hard if not harder than the students from last year.”
Math Leader qualifications are based on students achieving the Proficient Learner level or above on the Georgia Milestones mathematics assessments. Rome Middle School received the award because 98 percent or more of students in algebra scored proficient or above in mathematics.
As Woods held the banner he surveyed the Media Center filled with students, teachers, staff and administrators.
“This is bragging rights for Rome Middle School. My hope is that next year I will come back and add ribbons to your banner and give some banners to the other schools,” Woods said.
After receiving the banner, Rome Middle Principal Christian Barnes had a quick message for the students in the room.
“You’ll be a better someone when you leave here. Always keep that in mind, that you are somebody and it starts at elementary and it extends all the way through high school, college, and beyond,” he said. “I’m very proud of all the hard work.”
After the tour and presenting the banner, Woods headed to his car because he had several more banners to distribute to schools.
“This is the fun part of the job. Recognizing and seeing the hard work that’s being put in by our teachers and our students and seeing that the work is actually paying off. Hopefully, this is an encouragement for staff and students that we can do the work. We’ve got a handle on it. As much as we celebrate, the challenge is also out there as well,” Woods said. “So we want to keep pushing forward and keep improving and keep celebrating.”
