Several Rome High School students met with Rome City Schools Superintendent Dr. Eric L. Holland on Thursday morning to talk about issues, concerns, and solutions they have for the high school.
The students are all part of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. The key issues brought up concerned the cleanliness of locker rooms, fundraising for some athletic and fine arts programs, student’s mental health, and more.
Previously, Rome Middle and Rome High School students were brought together for the meeting, but that changed for this month's meeting.
“We separated the high school and middle school because the high school kids tended to dominate the conversation,” Dr. Holland said. “So we met with the middle school yesterday to discuss their concerns and wanted to meet with you today to hear yours.”
One concern from the high schoolers expressed by a couple of students was the locker rooms cleanliness. It was mentioned that the custodial staff does deep cleanings of those areas when students are out of school like Fall Break, or the upcoming Thanksgiving or Christmas breaks.
Dr. Holland made sure to congratulate members of the band for their performances on Friday nights as well as the Peach State Marching Festival. He also highlighted the One Act Play team’s region title as well as the volleyball and softball teams which recently completed their seasons.
Several council members were a part of those teams or squads and one mentioned the need for fundraising that a lot of clubs, sports, and arts need at the school, including a need for the one-act team when they travel to compete in the state tournaments.
Dr. Holland mentioned that Rome City Schools sets aside money for teams for when they have to travel for state competitions and there would be funds for the one-act squad.
A big topic of concern for the students was other students' mental health.
Adriana Churchill, a senior, mentioned that this is a tough time of year for students as far as mental health goes. She wanted to make sure Rome High School and the district were going to be helping.
“That is a really good point. Every year we look at student health surveys and we are concerned about students having mental health issues. We want to make sure students have time to decompress and have someone they can go to if they need,” he said.
Dr. Holland mentioned the four self-care days the district has as well as adding more social workers and having a specified teacher for every student to go to if they have issues.
“One of the most important things is building positive relationships and having an adult to talk to and having a safe space where they can talk is important. I want all of you to use your teachers but also make sure other students know about it,” he said.
He also reminded the students that they are on the council to be a voice for all of Rome High’s students and that they not only need to go to meetings but bring the information back to other students.
As the meeting neared its end, Dr. Holland asked the students to give their feedback on a couple of items including what to do with the current Rome Middle School once the new one opens in the Fall of 2026, any safety concerns they might have, and ways they can help make sure all students get included.
Several students mentioned using the middle school for athletics, fine arts, or extracurricular activities.
Students talked about long lines in the morning getting into school and wondered if classroom doors could be equipped with bars to help prevent entry.
Dr. Holland said the system was looking into the classroom doors and that having one entry point into the school is part of GEMA’s ( Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency) recommendation for safety but that a school resource officer is on hand.