Rome Free Academy - De O Wain Sta Yearbook (Rome, NY)

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THE DE-O-WAIN-STA 15 In Honor of Superintendent Staley Heaven is not reached by a single bound, is well illustrated in the school life of our superintendent, favored in early life as a country school pupil, and later as a country school teacher. His college preparation was gained in the Troy Conference Academy in Poultney, Vermont, and in 1900 he graduated from Syracuse University. He taught in the Troy Conference Academy for part of a year, then went to Oneida, N. Y., where he was successively teacher of mathematics, principal and super- intendent until 1912, when he came to Rome as Superintendent of Schools. Mr. Staley recently wrote a New York State supplement to McMurry and Parkin's Elementary Geography. Last fall he was honored by the Superintendents of New York by being elected President of the State Council of Superintendents. On June 26, 1902, Mr. Staley married Mary Barrett, and to them have been born three children, Eleanor, Marion and Barrett. Early in life, no doubt, he felt the inspiration that makes for high ideals and greater usefulness, and blazed his way both as a student and as a leader in school work through high school and college courses. Forti- fied with a profound knowledge of educational work, his varied experi- ences, aided by his common sense and adaptability to meeting situations as he finds them, he has risen high in the ranks of educational work to which he is giving his time and talent. As Rome has grown rapidly, he has grown with it, keeping the work in hand abreast of the foremost progressive educational thought of the times. This year is the twenty-fifth in Superintendent Staley's service to the public schools. We are proud of our city, proud of her schools, appre- ciative of our teachers who ably assist our Superintendent, and we here record our appreciation of our Superintendents successful management. Long, long may Rome Schools have the benefit of his guidance.

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GEORGE R. STALEY Superintendent of Schools

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16 THE DE-O-WAIN-STA The New R. F. A. Building The class of 1926 is sensible of the background provided by our his- toric city. Our i reverence for the past we have endeavored to ex- press in the main theme of the De-O-Wain-Sta. We desire, in addition, to show our gratitude to the community for their generous gift of our new school home. This sentiment has been embodied by our artists in their de- signs framing the historical drawings found in the pages which succeed. Our artists have followed the wall-tracery of the front entrance and of the ornamental panels. In some drawings they have incorporated the net- NEW R. F. A. -Photo by C. B. Howland, Commercial Photographer. work of some of the windows. Thus, in symbols, do we express the merg- ing of ourselves into the larger life that fosters and nourishes us. Close examination of the building reveals the fact that decorative treatment is confined almost exclusively to the main entrance, the win- dows, and to the blank walls on the front of the end pylons. This decora- tion is faithfully worked out in Gothic detail, although the entire building is merely an adaptation of the Gothic, showing both Egyptian and modern American influences. Its construction also typifies the Renaissance in some details. The end pylons and the impressed panels on either end of the building typify Gothic architecture. The vastness and the plainness of the building typify Egyptian architecture, while the lions' heads which cap the piers between the windows suggest the gargoyles of medieval