Earning a John Hancock Award is an accomplishment for any school. Having every school in a district earn one, including its middle and high school, is something State School Superintendent Richard Woods called, “the exception rather than the rule.”
Woods visited Elm Street Elementary School Wednesday morning to recognize the districtwide achievement, presenting John Hancock Award banners to principals from all eight Rome City Schools.
“To say that an entire district, not only your elementary schools, which typically is a given, but to say both middle school and high school has this award, that's going above and beyond,” Woods said. “We just want to say congratulations to everyone for their effort and dedication and really adding value to their children's lives.”
The recognition follows a districtwide effort during the 2025-26 school year to make cursive instruction a priority. Teachers helped students learn letter formation, develop muscle memory, read cursive writing, and ultimately create their own signatures.
Woods said those skills have value that extends well beyond simply learning how to sign a name.
“When you think about allowing them to own their own signature, when you look at cursive writing, there's a lot of academic value to it,” Woods said. “It motivates and moves the brain and supports learning.”
Schools must have at least 90 percent of eligible students demonstrate cursive writing proficiency to earn the John Hancock recognition. The districtwide effort culminated in April with John Hancock Signing Day ceremonies that gave students an opportunity to put what they had learned into practice by signing their names in cursive on special certificates.
Rome City Schools Superintendent Dr. Eric L. Holland said having all eight schools earn the recognition reflects the district’s continued emphasis on literacy and the work taking place in classrooms across Rome City Schools.
“Having every school earn this recognition says a lot about the commitment of our students and teachers,” Dr. Holland said. “Literacy is one of our highest priorities, and cursive writing gives our students another skill that supports learning now and prepares them for life beyond the classroom. This is another example of our schools continuing to Move the Needle.”
Woods also marked Constitution Week during his visit by presenting copies of the U.S. Constitution to Rome City Schools principals and students at Elm Street Elementary.
Elm Street had even more to celebrate Wednesday. Woods presented the school with its STEM Certification banner and ribbons recognizing its continued John Hancock achievement after Elm Street earned its banner last year.
Woods said earning STEM Certification reflects collaboration that extends throughout the school and beyond its walls.
“It is not done in isolation,” Woods said. “That means that your teachers are talking and they're collaborating from kindergarten all the way up to fifth grade, and our support staff as well. But not only them, you're bringing in parents, you're bringing in business and industry as well. So it really is a total package and really what education within the K-12 system should be about.”
State Rep. Katie Dempsey joined students, staff and district leaders at Elm Street for Wednesday’s presentation.
“I want to thank you all for the great work you are doing. The young lives you are transforming are very important to everyone around our state,” Dempsey said. “It was a little shocking when everyone realized that cursive writing had fallen off the radar. It’s so important in everyday life that you be able to read documents and read history and that you learn how to create a cursive signature of your own.”
For Rome City Schools, Wednesday’s recognition provided another milestone in an effort that began with a basic life skill and grew into a districtwide commitment. Students across all eight schools can now see the John Hancock banner as a reminder that putting pen to paper helped their schools Move the Needle.