After a decade working for SCASD, Communications Director Chris Rosenblum announced his retirement. Known for his “weather puns,” Rosenblum brought a jovial sense of humor to the district, along with his expertise in communications.

Rosenblum began his career working as a newspaper reporter and editor in Virginia, later moving to State College to work 19 years, primarily as a features writer, for the Centre Daily Times.

“People were constantly talking about his work– his extremely high quality of writing, and really, gift for storytelling,” colleague and CDT editor, Jessica McAllister, said.

Rosenblum continues to pitch and write stories for the CDT as a freelance writer, particularly in alignment with his love for feature articles. 

“I enjoyed telling feature stories, telling people’s narratives, introducing readers to different people … my heart always lay with telling people’s stories,” Rosenblum said. 

Rosenblum moved to the district in 2015 when former superintendent Robert O’Donnell approached him with a job offer. O’Donnell was looking for a more journalistic approach to the communications department, involving what Rosenblum was best at: storytelling.

“The opportunity for a change presented me with more time to spend with my kids as they were getting older … both my sons went through SCASD, and it’s a fantastic school,” Rosenblum said. “It’s why I settled in the community, and the chance to be an advocate for public education was an appealing one for me.”

As Communications Director, Rosenblum writes award-winning stories about the district, along with interviewing community members, coordinating messages to families, and working with the administration. He also works closely with the Media and Communications Manager, Nabil Mark. The team has collaborated for eight years, and Mark stressed the top-notch ability that Rosenblum brought to SCASD.

“We have a really big school district with so many talented students and staff … so the legacy that he leaves of telling all these people’s stories is, I think, really important,” Mark said. 

Mark went on to describe his long-standing partner. “He’s always very happy and jovial. He walks around with a smile on his face all the time. He’s a little bit quirky, definitely remembered for his weather calls,” Mark said.

The weather calls are what made Chris Rosenblum a well-known name in the district. When calls go out on snowy mornings, for delays or cancellations, the Communications Director always ends them with a silly pun. 

“I love his messages on delay days,” district parent Sarah Zarzycki said. “[They’re] very entertaining and bring a little smile and levity to otherwise stressful and annoying news.”

“I’ve always had a weakness for puns,” Rosenblum said. He once had an editor put his stories on a “pun diet,” in which he was only allowed to include a maximum of four puns a month.

“I started doing the weather puns because they made me smile and I figured if I thought they were humorous, other people would too, and I’m glad that people share my sense of humor. As my sons say, it’s really a true dad’s sense of humor,” Rosenblum said. 

Rosenblum keeps a Google Doc full of original puns that he jots down when they occur to him. He described it as a “little storehouse of puns.” 

Although members of the district might suggest a pun manual for Rosenblum’s next step, he’s researching a book to write after retirement, describing it as one set in the ‘50s music world of Chicago. 

“After almost 35 years of professional writing, I’m now going to have the chance to do my own writing on my own schedule, and I’m really excited about that opportunity,” Rosenblum said. 

For the now-former SCASD Communications Director, it’s less about retiring and more about using his writing talents in a new way. But for now, he ended his career with a signature pun: “Goodbye SCASD. It’s been school.”