Rochester Public Schools

Date Modified: 09/25/2007 8:50 AM

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Rochester Public Schools
507-328-3000

Rochester Public Schools offers many educational choice options. Programs vary by curriculum, size, classroom setting, and instructional calendar, but they all provide opportunities for students to achieve educational excellence in an individualized setting.

Independent School District #535 covers a large part of Olmsted County and extends into Wabasha County. With a pre-kindergarten through grade 12 population of approximately 16,300, Rochester Public Schools has the seventh largest enrollment in the state.

Rochester Public Schools includes 16 elementary schools, four middle schools, and three comprehensive high schools. The student population mirrors the growing diversity of the community with a minority student population of 26.5 percent. More than 65 different languages are spoken by district students, many of whom are supported by the English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program. Fifteen interpreters and two migrant family workers, speaking Arabic, Bosnian, Khmer (Cambodian), Hmong, Lao, Somali, Spanish, French, and Vietnamese help the transition of our non-native, English-speaking students.
   
The district’s three strategic aims are high student achievement, a safe and welcoming learning environment, and efficient and effective operations. All goals, whether individual or building, must support these aims, and every building is expected to have an improvement plan. As a result, student-achievement levels are consistently above state and national averages. Rochester Public Schools’ average composite ACT score has exceeded both state and national averages for 15 consecutive years. Its average composite ACT score was 23.7 in 2006—compared to state and national scores of 22.3 and 21.1, respectively.
   
Rochester Public Schools recruits and selects the highest quality staff available, maintaining about 2,150 employees. Eighty-six percent of the District’s teachers have training beyond a bachelor’s degree, with an average classroom experience of 13.5 years. The District also employs more than 1,000 dedicated support people, including maintenance workers, clerical staff, student-nutrition staff, administrators, paraprofessionals, and others.
   
The Rochester School Board and District leadership are committed to an integrated management system that applies quality principles throughout the organization. They recognize that all district components must have a clear direction and measurable goals to ensure the highest student achievement. The Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence provides a framework for continuous school improvement. Rochester Public Schools was recognized for its continuous-improvement efforts in June 2006, when the district received the 2005 Minnesota Quality Award in Education at the Achievement level—the highest recognition the Minnesota Council for Quality has ever awarded a school district.