Connected Community Schools Grows

Probably the biggest hurdle Melissa Roys faced in early 2020 when announcing the expansion of her program was explaining the Waterville Central School District was not merging with Rome City schools.

At the Delta Lake Inn (pre-pandemic) Roys, then executive director of Rome Community Schools, announced that WCS and the Dolgeville school districts were joining the program.

Even though the program was renamed Connected Community Schools, the four years when just Rome was involved were hard to change in people’s understanding.

Roys said she remembered that announcement and how exciting it was to see the program grow to three districts.

In the five years since, Connected Community Schools has had many more such moments.

As it approaches its 10th year in 2026, CCS has expanded to include 14 school districts broken into four zones in four counties. A total of 53 schools covering 25,000 students and their families fall under the CCS care. ...