RC Superintendent Tidbits
By: Mark Otten
Rock County Public Schools hosted a strategic planning event Monday, March 21 at Rock County High School. The school board, a number of staff members and a few community members came together to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats affecting our school district and community. The meeting was very productive with all ideas being put on the table. The surveys which were sent out previously were also taken into consideration and added to the discussion. The school board will be hosting a follow-up event to continue this discussion and determine the direction of the school district on Monday, April 11 from 6:00-8:00 PM. We would like to see even more participation from the public so if you are interested in helping develop district goals, please attend. It will be held in the Rock County High School multi-purpose room.
As we are all continuing to battle with everything life throws at us, it is great to remember we are all in this together and even the strongest of people need help sometimes. I watched an interview with a former Ohio State football player, Harry Miller, and he talks about his struggles with depression and anxiety. This is a former division one athlete who was valedictorian of his high school graduating class and was playing football for one of the premier programs in the nation. This young man seemed to have it all together as he was a 4.0 student in an engineering program at OSU. Not many people knew he had considered suicide already as an eight-year-old and was once again considering suicide. He turned to his college football coach for help because he knew this adult in his life cared about him. This is what we need to strive for every day as a school district. We need to let every student and adult who walks through our doors know that someone cares about them and wants to see them every day. I think we are trying to make strides in this area but we have room to grow. If you need inspiration, look up Harry Miller and listen to his story. I promise you will not be disappointed that you took the time to do so.