The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Rozwod retiring as principal after 16 years
SHERRILL, N.Y. >> James Rozwod has been a part of so many lives as principal at E.A. McAllister, he’s seen not just children of former students walk through the door, but grandchildren — and now he’s retiring.
“I found out as a teacher, it’s really about you and the kids,” Rozwod said. “But when you become a principal, it becomes much more than that. It’s the kids, the teachers, the parents and the community.”
Rozwod has been the principal at E.A. McAllister for 16 years, but he originally taught in the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill School District as a technology educator. Altogether, he’s got 35 years invested in the school. When asked why he decided to take on the role of principal, Rozwod said his principal at the time, Norman Reed, told him there were advantages to being a principal.
“He [Reed] said ‘ Instead of impacting 25 kids at a time, we can impact quite a few more’,” Rozwod said.
Rozwod said he’s grateful for a school district like VVS, where everyone works so closely together.
The retiring principal said growing up, he was an average student of a family with six children. A shy child growing up, Rozwod said he had a number of teachers help him along the way, such as his kindergarten teacher who did all she could to help him succeed.
“I was fourth in line and went to Liverpool with almost 1,000 kids in the graduating class,” Rozwod said. “I had an older brother and sister who skipped a grade and graduated within the top five of their class. I was middle of the road, though. School
was more difficult for me but I also didn’t work nearly as hard as they did on it. I was more interested in athletics and other things.”
When asked what made him want to get into teaching, Rozwod credits his mother and neighbors. “My mother was a teacher. The couple who lived next door were teachers and so were the couple who lived across the street,” Rozwod said. “My mother went back to work when I was in late elementary and she happened to teach some of the kids who became my friends in middle school.”
Rozwod said his friends talked about how his mother cared about them, made a difference in their lives and that she was “cool.”
“I found that really surprising because who ever thinks their parents are cool?” Rozwod said. “But she was an amazing person who taught until she was 65 years old.”
To the students, Rozwod is a helpful and caring person. Sixth-grader Karen Jiang said she transferred to E.A. McAllister after her family moved from New York City and owes her smooth transfer to him.
“It wasn’t difficult to transfer, not at all,” Karen said. “He helped me with the transfer and with my schoolwork.”
Karen said one of the most surprising things when she transferred was how involved he was with students, even on the morning announcements.
“He is kind to many of the students,” Karen said.
That kindness extends far and wide across the district. “When I was principal at the summer school, we had a strict no smoking policy,” Rozwod said. “A student was there who needed to pass the Regents to graduate. He had already given it four shots.”
Rozwod said this student was caught on school grounds smoking and could have meant the end for him.
“Instead of kicking him out of school, he sat with me in the office during the break between classes,” Rozwod said. “He ended up passing the Regents exam.”
Rozwod said he’s seen many students come through E. A. McAllister, some of whom went on to become teachers at the elementary school or the high school.
When asked why he chose now to retire, Rozwod gave a number of reasons— one of which was his health. “This last year and a half, I had my left shoulder replaced and my left hip,” Rozwod said. “And I need a knee replaced and the other hip.”
On top of that, Rozwod said he has a grandson now he wants to spend more time with.
Things have changed since Rozwood was in school.
“The rigor is much higher,” Rozwod said. “And the kids need to go to bat for us each and every day and they’re only going to do that if they know we’re there for them.”
But when asked what he’ll miss the most, Rozwod named a few things: watching teachers practice and hone their craft and seeing the look on a child’s face when they understand the lesson. But in the end, Rozwod said he’ll miss seeing children grow.
“Even when kids pass on up in the system, you’re working with three through 12-year-olds,” Rozwod said. “So it never really seems that we’re [faculty] aging. But it’s when I see kids that were my students are parents that I realize that they’re not 12-years- old anymore.”
Rozwod said Elizabeth Relyea, a former assistant principal at New Hartford will be taking over as principal of E. A. McAllister. “Prior to that, she was a foreign language teacher,” Rozwod said. “I’ve met with her four times so far and will be meeting with her over the summer. I think the school will be in great hands.”