Overcoming Together

Dr. Robert Romines named 2020 State Superintendent of the Year

By: Bill Moakley

A week into his tenure as superintendent of Moore Public Schools, Robert Romines would face the unthinkable. An EF5 tornado would tear a 17-mile path across central Oklahoma on May 3, 2013, hitting Moore’s Plaza Towers Elementary School and claiming the young lives of seven children.

For Romines, a Moore native and a product of its public schools, the day left an indelible mark. It would be the first of at least two major tragedies to hit his district during his now seven years as its top educator. He would become, not by choice, well versed at handling tragedy.

“Unfortunately, we’re experts at handling tragic situations,” Romines solemnly recalled recently. “We’ve been through a lot. Going back to the community, no matter what circumstances we’ve been through, we couldn’t do that on our own. We have a very strong community and we know how to face challenges as a school district and a community. If anything, we’ve learned how to rely on one another.”

Romines has been the steady figure through the many great moments the district has experienced as well and earlier this month he was recognized for his work when he was named Oklahoma Association of School Administrators District 7 Superintendent of the Year, then the OASA 2020 State Superintendent of the Year.

He will be recognized at the National School Superintendents Association (AASA) conference next February, and the OASA award makes him eligible to be selected as national superintendent of the year.

A graduate of the Moore High School, Romines holds bachelors and master’s degrees from the University of Central Oklahoma, and a doctoral degree and superintendent’s certificate from the University of Oklahoma. His grandfather was a Moore teacher and his father a coach and teacher. His brother is also a teacher. Suffice it to say, education is in his blood.

“Really, it’s all I’ve ever known,” Romines said. “I think it’s a calling. I love what I do. It’s about serving students and our community.

“This is my home. I’ve not been anywhere else. I don’t know anything different, and I don’t necessarily want to know anything different.”

Romines found himself in a unfortunately familiar and heartbreaking role this February when he would have to console a grieving district after a drunk driver swerved onto a sidewalk while the Moore High School cross country team was practicing. Three students died as a result of their injuries.

The superintendent knew he was not alone in handling another unspeakable tragedy.

“We’ve been through the fire on many levels,” Romines reflected. “I’ve learned to depend on others in order to get through what we need to get through. We have been cut off at the kneecaps with what has occurred and, fortunately, the community has always wrapped its arms around us.”

Those tired arms were tested again this spring as the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools nationwide, something Romines says he would have never believed would happen.

“I would have never guessed the state of Oklahoma and Moore Public Schools would shut down for a nine-week period based on anything,” he admitted. “That has been very interesting to watch unfold.”

In the midst of rethinking academics, canceling sports and extracurricular activities, and reimagining what ‘school’ in his district looks like, Romines has found a silver lining in the pandemic interruption.

“The school district is way ahead of the curve now in regard to what distance learning will look like in future years,” he explained. “Once COVID-19 goes away, we’re going to be able to continue doing some of the things we’ve been charged with doing during this situation. We’ve learned a lot and we’ve prepared and we’re better off now than we were 15 weeks ago in regards to our online curriculum and our intermittent options.”

Romines envisions his district being better able to handle disruptions to the ebb and flow of student life in the future. In case of viral outbreaks such as flu or students having to stay home due to surgeries or other circumstances, Moore schools will be better prepared to bridge the gaps that arise from off-site instruction.

“We have a plan for our students that we’ve never had before,” Romines said.

In addition to disrupting academic life for students and teachers, COVID-19 has affected the important social and emotional aspects school experiences provide.

“I think what our parents have seen firsthand is our students really, really struggled not being with their peers and their school family,” Romines explained. “It’s not all about academics. That’s a large part of it. The social and the mental pieces that we provide have really been noticed as that has been pulled back.”

During a recent online discussion with district and student leaders, Romines was reminded of the importance students feel in being together with each other, something that cannot be replicated in distance learning. This year’s Moore seniors talked not of missed proms or award ceremonies, but rather a firm desire to come together again as classmates.

“What they kept coming back to was, ‘please let us have one final ceremony and let us be under one roof and let us be together one more time before we leave,’” Romines explained. “We pretty much made the decision then to give them a graduation.”

For the first time in 40 years, Moore students celebrated graduates on the field at the district’s shared football stadium, following strict measures issued by state and federal officials to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Now, 26 years into his career as an educator, Romines may be as excited as ever to see students and teachers walk through the doors of the district’s 35 buildings again this fall.

“I’m looking forward to being back home and in our building and focusing on students and staff, not that we haven’t focused on them this past 15 weeks,” Romines admitted. “It’s going to be kind of a homecoming. That’s going to be the best thing on Aug. 13.”

As for being honored as the state’s top superintendent, Romines believes the honor is larger than him.

“I’m just one person in a very large school system and I have really good people around me,” he said. “I don’t do this job on my own. It’s well-deserved on so many levels by my staff as well. I was excited and surprised. It’s peer-driven and that is very important to me. I’m very honored. I’m very proud to receive the award.”

However, seven years deep into his role, it’s not awards and honors that keep Romines coming back, it’s something much more important.

“It’s the 25,000 students we serve on a daily basis,” he concluded. “You sit back and you think about that number. It’s a very large number and we have a lot of really great things going on in this school district. We’re providing great things for our students.”- 19SM