Rome Free Academy (commonly abbreviated as RFA) is a public high school located in
Rome, New York
Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the Central New York, central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Ro ...
, United States, at the former site of
Griffiss Air Force Base
Griffiss Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force installation in the northeastern United States, located in Central New York state at Rome, about northwest of Utica.
Missions included fighter interceptors, electronic research, i ...
. The school opened at this location in September 2002, having previously been located at 500 Turin St. This former site is the current location of Rome Free Academy's athletic facilities. During the 2018–2019 academic year the school enrolled 1,482 students in grades nine through twelve. It serves as the high school for the city of Rome.
Rome Free Academy offers a general high school education through a regular curriculum of mathematics, social studies, English, science, art, music, health, and a selected foreign language. Rome Free Academy also includes a multiple business classes.
Rome Free Academy's sports teams are called the Black Knights. The school's athletic colors are black and orange.
Notable in recent history is the addition of a comprehensive Positive Behavior Initiatives and Support (PBIS) initiative, which includes a range of measures to help solve student behavioral problems.
Notable alumni
*Orlando J. Illi, Jr U.S. Army Officer Candidate School (OCS) Hall of Fame Inductee (April 2019)
*
Don Healy, former NFL player
*
Rob Manfred
Robert Dean Manfred Jr. (born September 28, 1958) is an American lawyer and business executive who is serving as the tenth Commissioner of Baseball, commissioner of Major League Baseball. He previously served as MLB's chief operating officer. Man ...
, commissioner of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
*
Tom Myslinski
Thomas Joseph Myslinski, Jr. (born December 7, 1968) is a professional American football strength and conditioning coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was strength and conditioning coach for the Cleveland Browns until the end of the 2009 sea ...
, former NFL player
*
Edyth Walker
Edyth Walker (March 27, 1867 – February 19, 1950) was an American opera singer who had an active international career from the 1890s through the 1910s. She began her career performing roles from the mezzo-soprano repertory, but later success ...
, opera singer with the Metropolitan Opera and Vienna State Opera
*
Bonnie Thunders
Nicole Williams (born 1983), known as Bonnie Thunders, is a roller derby skater. Widely considered to be one of the greatest players of modern roller derby, Bonnie Thunders has been referred to by multiple writers as "the LeBron James of roller de ...
, Roller Derby player
*
Tim Russ
Timothy Darrell Russ (born June 22, 1956) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on '' Star Trek: Voyager'', Robert Johnson in ''Crossroads'' (1986), Casey in '' E ...
, Actor
*Aryanna Piatt, co-Manager of
Lizzo
Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Houston, Texas with her family when she was 10 years old. After col ...
*Noah "Nifty" Francis, Professional CS:GO player, currently playing for
Team Envy
Team Envy was an American esports franchise based in Dallas, Texas, owned by Envy Gaming. Founded in 2007 as a professional ''Call of Duty'' team under the moniker Team EnVyUs, they fielded rosters in '' Counter-Strike, FIFA, Fortnite, Gears o ...
in North America
References
Public high schools in New York (state)
Rome, New York
Schools in Oneida County, New York
1869 establishments in New York (state)
Educational institutions established in 1869
{{NewYork-school-stub