He retired in 2018.
And then he came back.
Not because he had to. Not because he needed the work. But because after 40 years of teaching, leading, and serving public education at every level — Dr. Bart Rocco realized something that most people take decades to figure out.
"Teaching is not what I do. It is who I am."
That distinction — between what you do and who you are — is at the heart of everything Dr. Rocco shared in Episode 8 of the Stay Teacher Podcast. And it may be the most important thing any educator reads today.
Bart Rocco grew up in Monongahela — a small town south of Pittsburgh. His father owned a flower shop. His parents never went to college. He was the first in his family of four to walk through those doors at Duquesne University — charged, excited, and carrying everything his parents had taught him about people, relationships, and hard work.
He did not arrive at teaching immediately. He considered theater management. He was not entirely sure where he was going. But two experiences changed everything.
The first was a Sunday school class. His father volunteered him — without asking — to drive from Pittsburgh to Monongahela every Sunday morning to teach children at a local church. And something happened the moment he stood in front of those kids.
He got hooked.
The second was a professor named Dr. Bill Faith. An educational psychology teacher at Duquesne who did something unusual one Tuesday morning. He looked at Bart — who had never missed a class — and said: "I don't want you in class today. I have two tickets for you to see The Elephant Man at Heinz Hall. Go."
No assignment. No rubric. Just — go.
Dr. Rocco went. He watched the play. He was moved. And he understood something that day that has never left him.
"The greatest learning sometimes happens outside the classroom."
Dr. Faith passed away the year after Bart graduated. But he has never forgotten him. Some teachers do not just teach a subject. They teach you how to see the world differently. And that is what this profession is really for.
Before Dr. Faith. Before Sunday school. Before any of it — there was Mrs. Ramsden.
A public school teacher who sat her students in a circle and read books aloud. Who was — as Dr. Rocco remembered — caring and compassionate.
But what stood out most was something she did for a student who came to school struggling. A child who was a little downtrodden — whose clothes were not clean, whose home life was hard. And Mrs. Ramsden quietly brought clothes in for him. She did not make a scene. She did not draw attention. She just showed up for that child the way great teachers do — in the small, unseen moments that nobody claps for.
Dr. Rocco was a child in that classroom. He did not fully understand what she was doing at the time. But looking back — nearly five decades later — he said it was one of the most powerful things he ever witnessed in a classroom.
"She was really building relationships — not only with that child, but with the whole classroom."
That is why Mrs. Ramsden mattered. And that is why Dr. Rocco spent 40 years trying to be that person for someone else.
Dr. Rocco has held nearly every title in public education. Teacher. Principal. Assistant superintendent. Superintendent. Professor.
Ask him which role was hardest and he does not hesitate.
High school principal.
"I'm at the desk at six in the morning. I'm there sometimes until ten o'clock at night. You're dealing with parents, students, teachers. You're in the heat of battle every day."
The unique challenge of leading a high school is this — everyone has been to high school. So everyone thinks they know how it should run. And in a world where information is instant and opinions are loud that creates a dynamic unlike any other leadership role in education.
You can do a thousand good things. One mistake and you are on the six o'clock news.
But Dr. Rocco kept coming back. Because his father taught him something that carried him through every hard morning and every difficult season.
"Work the vineyard. Every day, plug away. Do those things you have to do. And at the end, hopefully you will have a nice garden."
Every conversation on the Stay Teacher Podcast follows the ROOTS Framework — five pillars that keep great teachers and leaders grounded through every storm of the profession.
Here is how Dr. Rocco walked through his 40 years:
R — Reason
A father who taught him about people from behind a flower shop counter. A first grade nun who made him feel safe. A public school teacher who brought clothes for a struggling student without anyone asking. A professor who sent him to the theater instead of a lecture hall. And a Sunday school classroom that showed him — before he even knew what teaching was — that he was born for this.
O — Obstacles
The grind of the high school principalship. Budget crises. The death of students and teachers. A political landscape that has increasingly undermined the value of public education. Book banning. Funding inequities that tie the quality of a child's education to their zip code. And the loneliness of leadership — carrying decisions that affect thousands of lives with no guarantee of getting them right.
O — Overcome
By going back to his core values every time. By surrounding himself with mentors — Rob Rosen his cooperating teacher who still calls him monthly 40 years later. Joe Worlenick at Pitt — a true inspiration. By building teams he could trust. And by never losing sight of the reason he started — children.
T — Transformation
From a young man who was not sure where he was going — to a generalist who learned that the strongest leaders are the ones who trust the people around them. From a classroom teacher to a superintendent who was invited to the White House four times for innovative work with the League of Innovative Schools. And now — back at the beginning — pouring everything into the next generation of educators at the University of Pittsburgh.
S — Stay
Public education is the great equalizer. It is the thing that levels the playing field — that says it does not matter what zip code you grew up in or whether your parents went to college. You have a chance here. And as long as that is true Dr. Rocco will keep showing up.
One story from this episode captures everything Dr. Rocco believes about education.
A student wanted to build a canoe. Using free software from MIT he designed it. He built it in the school shop. And when he was done Dr. Rocco told him — build another one.
The student asked why.
"Because we want one to keep here — so everyone can see what you did. And we are going to take the other one to the pool and test it. We want to see if it floats."
The whole school came to watch. They threw that canoe in the water.
It floated.
And in the eyes of that student — the light that came on in that moment — Dr. Rocco saw exactly why he had spent 40 years fighting for public education.
"That is why education matters. You can change the world doing those things."
Dr. Rocco did not hold back when Coach G asked about the teacher retention crisis.
We are not telling the story of great teaching loudly enough. We are not celebrating teachers every day — only during one week per year. We are paying teachers too little at the beginning of their careers and making them wait 18 to 19 years to reach a livable wage. We are banning books and curriculum materials that connect students to the most important events in human history.
And we have not fully reckoned with what teachers did during COVID — when they showed up, pivoted overnight, kept children learning, and kept communities functioning — without nearly enough recognition for any of it.
"If it wasn't for teachers and educators during COVID — where would our kids have been? Where would society have been?"
His prescription is direct. Pay teachers more at the start. Offer on-site daycare and parental leave. Build systematic mentoring programs that last more than one year. Select and train mentors carefully. And above all — tell the story. Every school. Every district. Every podcast. Every platform.
The profession is extraordinary. We just need to say so — loudly and consistently — until the world believes it again.
Coach G asked Dr. Rocco the question that every episode of the Stay Teacher Podcast builds toward — why does public education still matter?
His answer was immediate and unequivocal.
"Public education is the great equalizer in our country. Giving children the opportunity to learn in an environment that is unbiased, that is free, that has opportunity — it is the greatest thing. When we lose that in our society, we are in deep trouble."
Forty years. Every level of this profession. Still showing up.
Not because he has to.
Because this is who he is.
Dr. Bart Rocco grew up the son of a flower shop owner in a small Pennsylvania town. He was the first in his family to go to college. He was not always sure where he was going.
And then Mrs. Ramsden quietly brought clothes for a struggling child. Dr. Faith sent him to the theater instead of class. A Sunday school full of half-asleep kids taught him he was born to teach.
Forty years later he is still here. Still pouring. Still showing up.
Because public education is not just where he worked.
It is who he is.
Hear Dr. Rocco's full story — including the canoe that floated, his powerful message about the teacher retention crisis, and why he believes public education is still the greatest equalizer in America — on the Stay Teacher Podcast.
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If this story moved you share it with one teacher, one school administrator, a friend or family today. And if you have a story to tell reach out at stayteacher.com — we want to hear it.
Your ROOTS run deep.
Stay teacher.
Written by Ghirmay Alazar, PhD— Coach G