This Father’s Day a whole slew of Rome City Schools employees will be celebrating. Many teachers and staff in the system are fathers and for a few, it’s almost as if Father’s Day comes every day because their children work in the same school system with them.
Randy Nobles has worked for Rome City Schools since 1980, and one of his daughters Carrie, works in the same school system as her dad.
Dr. Scott McClure came into teaching a bit later in life. He serves as a paraprofessional at Elm Street and his daughters Kaylan and Kerri McClure also work in the school system.
What’s even more interesting is that all three of the daughters were taught in Rome City Schools and graduated from Rome High School.
For the Nobles, Randy and Carrie, they each knew at an early age what they wanted to do with their lives.
“At 12 years old, I had several teachers that were very influential. The idea of telling stories and learning about history really appealed to me,” Randy Nobles says. ”I love interacting with people, so it was just like at age 12 I knew what I wanted to do.”
His daughter Carrie says she knew at an even younger age.
“On the last day of school in kindergarten, I came home crying off the bus because I didn’t want to leave kindergarten. I had a great kindergarten teacher. I loved school,” she says. “I had fun and enjoyed it. It was what I knew because my mom and dad were teachers. When I went to college, I realized how much I enjoyed teaching and working with kids. I never changed my mind about what I wanted to do with my life from that day in kindergarten.”
The McClures didn’t start out wanting to end up in education, but the paths they took led them to it.
“I got involved with education after the shift on the job I had at a particular time. They gave employees an opportunity to retire, so I had to start looking for something else. I took about six months off and then I started subbing,” Dr. McClure says. “My first assignment was at West Central and then I started going to other schools. One day I landed at Elm Street. I remember it very vividly. It was on a Friday. I just had a good time and I had a good rapport with the kids. Mrs. (Laura) Walley called me into her office after school and asked me that if Elm Street had a position or anything come open if I would be interested and I told her yes.”
Not long after that then principal Dr. JoAnn Moss called McClure telling him she had a paraprofessional position open, and he wanted it.
“I’ve been at Elm Street ever since,” he says.
Kaylan McClure got her bachelor’s in Psychology from Kennesaw State, but then the COVID pandemic took over.
“COVID hit, so I started researching different things to do. I came across a school counseling program at Jacksonville State. When it came time to start doing my internship and practicum, it just so happened that West End was hiring for a second counselor. I reached out to Dr. Drummond,” she says. “At that point, they had filled the position but the person who took it took another job. He called me and I interviewed on a Thursday or Friday and started the next Monday or Tuesday.”
Kerri McClure started out in speech at the University of Georgia but changed her major to education.
“I originally went to UGA to pursue speech but that went left. I went the education route and got my bachelor's there,” she says. “I put my application in, and I got emails from East Central and West Central. I interviewed at both and got the position at West Central. I’ve been there ever since.”
Both McClure daughters are starting their third year with Rome City Schools in July.
Randy Nobles went to Berry College and did his student teaching at West Rome Junior High School.
“I went to Berry College and taught with Andy Akin at West Rome Junior High in the fall of 1980. On my third day, he told me he was leaving at the end of the quarter. I told him that was cool because I needed a job,” he says. “I started teaching in the classroom four days before I graduated and ended up in the same classroom I student taught in. It was a smooth transition starting out for me, and I’ve been here ever since.”
Nobles eventually moved to Rome Middle School and taught there for 20 years. He also served as a middle school athletic director and now works in the transportation department. Along the way, he coached several sports and is probably best known for coaching the West Rome High School and Rome High School boys soccer teams.
Carrie Nobles also went to Berry College and studied to become a teacher.
“I was a student teacher at Rome City Schools. During my senior year of college, I went back and forth about staying in my hometown or leaving and branching out. I had a lot of people telling me to leave and go,” she says. “I love the people here. I love the community here. I have a heart for all the kids I teach growing up in basically a five-mile radius of where I grew up. Some are growing up very similar to me. Some are growing up very differently, and I just wanted to continue to love these kids and pour into this community.”
Carrie Nobles begins her eighth year with Rome City Schools in July while her dad is about to start year 45.
Both fathers have great answers when asked if they thought their daughters would end up in education.
“I believe in calling and that we do things because we are called or led,” Randy Noble says. “It’s a spiritual as well as a physical choice and decision. If that’s who you are, then that’s who you are.”
Much like Nobles, Dr. McClure gets a big smile on his face when asked his thoughts about both of his daughters teaching.
“It is a great achievement and a great accomplishment for them. It makes me feel good because they are able to give back to the same education system that gave them their education. It’s good that they are able to be back mentoring kids and to help shape them and get them ready for the future,” he says. “Hopefully, they will have an impact on some of those kids, and down the line, those kids will be able to come back and give back and continue this cycle of producing the best for Rome City Schools.”
The daughters all say they enjoy teaching and even touch on the fact that they are doing so in the same school system that taught them.
“I love the kids. They are great. They are so much fun. One of the things I get to do now with ESOL is be an advocate for students, work with their families, and follow them through grade levels,” Carrie Nobles says. “I love getting to see them grow and being able to advocate for things that they need.”
Kerri McClure says working with the kids is a big part of what she enjoys most about teaching.
“I like being able to work with kids. I like to see where they come from and their backgrounds and be able to be a part of their lives,” she says “Just so one day they can look back and appreciate it and want to do better for themselves.”
Kaylan McClure says being able to have different things happen at work every day inspires her.
“I just like how every day is something different. I don’t think I would like a job where everything is the same every day. I can go in and have no idea what I’m doing, and then I have a day filled with fun things,” she says. “I love to see the growth the kids go through. As a counselor working on emotional regulation and things like that, it’s good to see how they react at the start of the school year and how they react at the end of the school year. It’s totally different.”
Sometimes being in the same school system as your dad can be a lot too.
“I have the Nobles name and people know that name because of my dad, so I put a lot of pressure on myself,” Carrie Nobles says. “The first years of my career, I had a really good principal tell me it doesn’t matter who my dad is. It matters what you are doing. They had worked with my dad. She helped mentor me through that.”
Sometimes the McClures run across kids who have switched schools in the system and know their dad or their siblings.
“I think it’s kind of cool because kids do move around a good bit in Rome City. Kids are always excited if they transfer to West End, and they come from West Central or Elm Street,” Kaylan McClure says. “I’ll ask them if they know my dad or my sister. They think it’s the coolest thing ever.”
For Kerri McClure being in the same system is nice, but has caused a few problems with her email.
“It’s kind of funny. We all have the same last name. I get his emails all the time. I have a picture of myself and people still send his emails to me,” she says.
One thing that is most noticeable about the two dads as they share their stories with their daughters is how proud they are.
When asked about how proud he is of his daughter, Randy tears up for a moment. Carrie notes that her dad is emotional and tends to cry easily.
“I am proud we’re in the same district. I came out of a school that had very little diversity. We were all the same. This was in the late 1970s. Rome City Schools wasn’t how I grew up, but it’s how I wanted my children to grow up,” he says. “The fact that she is willing to go and be a part of this is really cool. I’m incredibly proud of her. She does a much better job of going and looking at the whys and trying to deal with things like that. Her desire to get more education is all about wanting to be able to help the kids more.”
While Dr. McClure doesn’t shed any tears, his face beams with pride as he looks at his daughters.
“I had hopes early on they would go into education. I told them that they would lean that way. Education to me plays such a pivotal role in a life as a whole,” he says. “What better way to be a steward of a good life than to give back to the education of kids. It reaches so many kids. You also get a lot of time off. It’s demanding and challenging but the rewards are good.”
The two dads share a lot of similarities. They both love teaching and it shows in their words and actions. And they both love that they have children following in their footsteps and following their calling.