Nominations now open for Rockwood’s prestigious ROSE Award
Surrounded by his students, band director Brad Balog celebrates his recognition when he was surprised at school and told he was a 2022 ROSE Award winner during AcLab. Balog was one of the 15 people to receive the ROSE Award last year. “I’m very proud to have been here a long time and pour my heart and soul into doing the best I can for our families in Lafayette,” Balog said.
January 12, 2023
For the past 33 years, the Rockwood School District honors 15 Rockwood teachers, staff members or volunteers with the Rockwood’s Outstanding Service in Education (ROSE) Award.
The ROSE Award is given to recognize an individual’s devotion to supporting and providing for the Rockwood community. The nomination form can be found on the RSD website and will be available through Jan. 26.
Any Rockwood staff member, in addition to anyone providing volunteer services to the district, who is not a previous winner, is eligible for the award. Last year, Lafayette band director, Brad Balog was one of the 15 ROSE Award recipients.
“I was very honored when I found out that I got a nomination because that just means somebody thinks very highly of me. I’ve nominated people for ROSE before, so I know kind of what it takes to put the application together a little and that, somebody would take that time to write nice things about you and tell other people about that. It’s just very flattering and a nice honor for sure,” Balog said.
According to the RSD website, “[The objective is] to provide special recognition to people in the Rockwood School District who demonstrate the excellence of character, performance, leadership and service. People who contribute more than is expected and stand out among their peers.”
“It’s definitely a well-respected award throughout the Rockwood School district that is given to teachers, administrators, parents, support staff, anybody that is working with kids in, in our district and can be nominated by anybody as well. I think it’s a neat way to recognize outstanding individuals in our district doing good work for the kids in the district,“ Balog, said.
On the ROSE nomination form, individuals will be asked to submit basic information about their nominee as well as provide some details about the nominee in the four basic areas the award recognizes.
At the end of the school year, a ROSE Selection Committee will select 15 ROSE Award recipients from all of the nominees.
ROSE recipients will be recognized at a special ceremony and dinner on Sunday, May 1, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Chesterfield. That banquet will also recognize Cornerstone recipients, Teachers of the Year, Service Award honorees and retirees.
