Boundaries
Rochester Public Schools (RPS) passed a referendum in 2019, which funded four schools in order to address our capacity issues. Our student population was growing and we needed new schools. Now that our school construction projects are near completion and are opening in August 2022 for the 2022-2023 school year, we need to shift our school attendance boundaries so that students can spread out across the district and fill our new schools.
Helpful Resources
Use the School Locator to locate your address and see which school(s) your children are assigned to beginning in the 2022-2023 School Year.
The school attendance boundary adjustment process was led by Cooperative Strategies, a national consulting firm already familiar with the District. As part of the process, Cooperative Strategies worked with a representative committee, provided opportunities for public comment and feedback about multiple proposals, and provided a final recommendation to the school board on behalf of the boundary committee. This process took place between May 2020 and June 2021. You can read More information about this comprehensive process.
We know that changing schools can be emotional for parents, guardians, and students. In meeting the goals of the boundary changes (balancing the enrollment at each school), the district’s boundary advisory committee focused on minimizing disruption to families. One way we are hoping to minimize disruption is to allow our students in their final year (Grade 5 or 8) to finish their time at their current school and by allowing our high school students to stay at their current school (pending capacity). Families that are impacted by attendance boundary adjustments will be notified by their schools on December 1, 2021. These families will be asked to complete a brief survey by December 10. If you are curious whether or not attendance boundary changes apply to you, use the School Locator to locate your address and see which school(s) your children are assigned to beginning in the 2022-2023 School Year.
Boundary Advisory Committee Updates
- October 20, 2021
- June 1, 2021 - Boundaries Approved
- May 18, 2021
- April 22, 2021
- March 17, 2021
- April 6, 2021
- March 10, 2021
- February 18, 2021
- January 20, 2021
- January 7, 2021
- December 4, 2020
- December 3, 2020
- November 11, 2020
- November 10, 2020
- May 2020
October 20, 2021
At the June 15th School Board meeting, the Hold Harmless - Exception to Attendance / Administration Process for Fall 2022 was discussed. A number of students will be beginning the final level within their school building at the start of the 2022-2023 school year (these are the grades of 5th, 8th, and 12th grade). Consistent with past practice, the administration will offer these students an opportunity to apply for an exception to attendance/administrative placement at their former school for their final year. The District will not be able to offer transportation. Additionally, the administration will consider allowing students’ younger siblings already enrolled in the building as of the 2021-2022 school year an opportunity to stay for one more year. Note, siblings would not be granted an exception for the 2023-2024 school year after their older sibling moves to the next level.
The administration will use the following process:
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Parents will be sent a written communication in the fall of 2021 if their student is impacted with instructions on how to indicate they want to seek an exception to attendance/administrative placement.
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A to-be-developed form will be completed by the parents indicating they would like to seek an exception to attendance/administrative placement to a school outside of their boundary area school. The deadline to return the form is still being determined but will likely coincide with the application deadline of district-wide option school forms.
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If parents don’t respond in writing, the District will attempt calling them to make sure they understand their student will be impacted for fall 2022.
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The administration will approve exceptions to attendance/administrative placements based on space available. Currently, the administration is projecting congestion at Willow Creek 8th Grade and John Adams 8th Grade, depending on how many students seek to stay at their current school versus how many move to their new school. This is primarily because, in general, two-thirds of Friedell students live within the Willow Creek boundary and need to return to Willow Creek for their final year of middle school. It is reasonably expected that most other exceptions to attendance/administrative placements may be approved.
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Staffing for all schools will occur as usual in February and March 2022. The number of staff for each school will be determined based on the student enrollment numbers as of mid-March 2022. Both students moving up a grade level plus those students that have been approved for an exception to attendance/administrative placement will determine actual staffing counts.
June 1, 2021 - Boundaries Approved
At the June 1st School Board meeting, the School Board approved attendance boundary adjustments which will begin in the 2022-2023 school year. The boundary recommendations came as a collective effort from a boundary advisory committee, led by District-hired consultants, Cooperative Strategies.
As we shared earlier, we know attendance boundary adjustments are a personal and emotional topic and one that often generates many questions. District administration will work on a plan over the next few months that factor in students currently in grades three, six, and ten who, in 2022-2023, will be in their final year at their current school today. We plan to bring our plans forward as an information item to the School Board in the next few months.
Families that are impacted with changes in the 2022-2023 school year will be receiving additional communication mailed to their primary residence in the fall. You can see if your child(ren) are impacted by using the school locator tool.
Helpful Resources
Use the School Locator to locate your address and see how the recommended boundaries would impact your family.
May 18, 2021
The Boundary Advisory Committee submitted their boundary adjustment recommendation to the Superintendent after their May 5 meeting. The Superintendent is submitting the Boundary Advisory Committee’s recommendation to the School Board without modification on May 18.
Regarding questions the community will undoubtedly have surrounding “grandfathering” or “exceptions to attendance” after the new boundaries become effective, the Superintendent would like to work on a plan for grandfathering separate from the School Board’s approval of the actual boundary lines. This plan can be worked out over the next few months so there can be clear communication to families about fall 2022 options while considering what the space constraints will be if students stay in their current buildings. Decisions about transportation also need to be considered but cannot be worked out immediately this month because of routing Summer of Discovery 2021 students and fall 2021 students to accommodate new bell times.
It is understood that current year third, sixth, and tenth graders impacted by a change will be most anxious about the ambiguity this creates because in the fall of 2022 they may need to switch schools for the last year at their current level. Therefore, rather than rush a decision on how to best implement grandfathering, it is recommended that boundaries be set in June as previously promised. This will provide certainty for the community on which neighborhoods are going to be impacted but allow the administration time to work through the details of how to best accommodate requests. As a side note, the District has already seen families anxious and willing to move to Overland Elementary School ahead of schedule for fall 2021. The administration takes this to mean that while it is understandable some families do not want to change schools, other families are anxiously awaiting a change in boundaries.
As previously communicated, the boundary adjustments are being announced over a year in advance to allow families to plan for the start of the 2022-2023 school year on September 6, 2022.
Helpful Resources
Use the School Locator to locate your address and see how the recommended boundaries would impact your family.
Boundary Advisory Recommendation
Watch the Boundary Advisory Recommendation on Youtube.
April 22, 2021
At the fifth meeting, the committee reviewed the themes of the public feedback. The committee agreed to drop option 1 since that option had the most negative feedback. The committee spent time discussing options 2 and 3, with most group members feeling that option 3, with more adjustments, might be the best option to move forward. More discussion will be had on options 2 and 3 at the next meeting with the consultants providing some recommendations for adjustment based on the themes of the negative feedback.
The next meeting of the Boundary Advisory Committee is May 5. It is possible that the Boundary Advisory Committee will be making a recommendation to the Superintendent after the meeting on May 5 and that the Superintendent will be bringing forward the Boundary Advisory Committee’s recommendation to the School Board as soon as May 18. If the committee needs more time than available to them on May 5, the recommendation to the School Board will be delayed until June 1.
Review the Survey
Use the PDF below to review the survey results from the recent boundary survey.
March 17, 2021
The Boundary Advisory Committee met for a fourth time on March 17. The committee reviewed all three small group options for elementary, middle, and high school boundaries that were developed at the previous meeting on March 10. The consultants believe the options are ready to be shared with the community for feedback. The consultant will make a video along with an address locator tool and interactive survey to collect community feedback. This will be available after the next School Board meeting on April 6. As part of the community survey, stakeholders will have an opportunity to sign-up for a focus group session in mid-April with Cooperative Strategies to talk about specific portions of the plan. After the survey and focus groups, the Boundary Advisory Committee will reconvene on April 21 to review the feedback collected.
April 6, 2021
On November 5, 2019, the District voters approved a comprehensive building bond for $180.9 million. The funds support the construction of four new schools. As part of this three-year construction process, school attendance boundaries need to be adjusted to balance our District's capacity with the additional new schools.
The boundary adjustments will become effective for the start of school in the 2022-2023 school year. The Superintendent recommends the School Board approve the boundary adjustments no later than September 2021, so families have approximately one year to adjust as necessary.
An Advisory Committee has been working on attendance boundary options. Now, the District is issuing a survey to collect feedback around a series of boundary options. The Advisory Committee will evaluate feedback collected through this online survey from the community and recommend option(s) to the Superintendent.
If you have additional questions or concerns after completing this survey, you will have the chance to sign up for a focus group meeting to discuss these questions.
The School Board will hear an update on the boundary work during tomorrow night’s School Board Meeting (April 6). The survey will be available online from the evening of April 6 until April 20, 2021, at 8 PM. RPS families will also receive a survey link on Wednesday, April 7 via Skylert email.
Helpful Resources
Use the School Locator to locate your address and see how the proposed boundary options could impact your family.
Use the presentation slides to view school capacities and see highlighted adjustments of the boundary adjustment options.
Below are recorded sessions of the boundary adjustment option presentations in 15 and 30 minute videos.
15 Minute Presentation
30 Minute Presentation
Elementary Boundaries
Option 1 Highlights
- Newcomers program moves to Bamber Valley ES (reduces capacity at Bamber Valley and increases capacity at Riverside)
- 77% of elementary students reside in the boundary of closest school
Option 2 highlights
- Montessori program moves from Franklin to Hoover
- Churchill becomes K-5 building with lower capacity
- 69% of elementary students reside in the boundary of closest school
Option 3 Highlights
- No programs change buildings
- 77% of elementary students reside in the boundary of closest school
Middle School Boundaries
Option 1 Highlights
- 2 elementary to middle school splits (Churchill/Hoover & Folwell)
- 71% of middle school students reside in the boundary of their closest school
Option 2 highlights
- 2 elementary to middle school splits (Bamber Valley & Gage)
- 77% of middle school students reside in the boundary of their closest school
Option 3 Highlights
- 3 elementary to middle school splits (Bamber Valley, Gage, & Sunset Terrace)
- 75% of middle school students reside in the boundary of their closest school
High School Boundaries
Option 1 Highlights
- 2 middle schools split at the high school level (John Adams MS & New NW MS)
- 73% of high school students reside in the boundary of their closest school
Option 2 highlights
- 2 middle schools split at the high school level (John Adams MS & New NW MS)
- 80% of high school students reside in the boundary of their closest school
Option 3 Highlights
- 2 middle schools split at the high school level (John Adams MS & New NW MS)
- 80% of high school students reside in the boundary of their closest school
March 10, 2021
The Boundary Advisory Committee met for a third time on March 10. At the third meeting, the committee split into the same three small groups as the second meeting and worked on drawing middle school and high school boundaries that complemented the elementary school boundaries developed at the second meeting. At the next Boundary Advisory Committee meeting on March 17, each small group will fine-tune its option of elementary, middle, and high school boundaries so the process can then move into the community engagement phase for April.
February 18, 2021
February 18, 2021
The Boundary Committee met on February 17. During this two-hour meeting, the committee broke out into small workgroups where committee members offered potential solutions to the consultants to balance capacity and socio-economic status in elementary schools across the District. Utilizing GIS software, the consultants were able to provide previews of the committees' options. RPS support team members were available to answer committee member questions during this process.
This was the first work session for the committee, focusing on only the elementary school boundaries. The committee did not finalize any of their initial options and expressed a desire for more time to refine their work. The committee will meet again in March to continue this work and to begin working on middle school boundary options.
The committees' goal is to bring forward elementary and middle school options for public input in April.
January 20, 2021
January 20, 2021
The RPS Boundary Advisory Committee held its first meeting on Wednesday, January 20. This meeting covered the process overview, roles and responsibilities of the committee, guiding principles, data overview, and question and answer time. The presentation for this meeting can be viewed below.
January 7, 2021
January 7, 2021
The District’s boundary consultant, Cooperative Strategies, selected the RPS Boundary Advisory Committee membership. A group of approximately 28 individuals (students, parents, staff, and citizens) were selected to serve as a representative of the district in this process.
The group consists of:
- 3 High School Students
- 6 RPS Staff Members
- 1 City Planner
- 1 Realtor
- 11 Parents
- 6 Community Members (these are non-staff members that do not currently have students in RPS)
The general process will consist of five meetings with this team:
January
- Roles and Responsibilities of Committee Members
- Understand the Process and “The Why”
- School Capacity
- Boundary Development Criteria
February
- Boundary Option Development
March
- Continue with Boundary Option Development
- Community Feedback Survey Development
April
- Discuss Community Survey Results
- Develop Recommendations for the Superintendent
May
- Finalize Recommendations for the Superintendent
As the process continues, we will share a community feedback survey and we will host focus groups where community members can learn more about the boundary options in a small group setting. We hope you can take advantage of these opportunities.
December 4, 2020
December 4, 2020
On December 3, RPS and their consultants presented information on the District’s Boundary Adjustment Process. For those that may have missed this meeting, our consultants provided an overview of the boundary adjustment process, detailed the role of the boundary advisory committee, and shared some guiding principles that we will be asking for you to provide feedback on via an online survey.
Here is how you can participate in the boundary adjustment process going forward:
- Feedback on high-level framework that will be used to assess how effective options are as we develop them. Our survey asks you to consider the following guiding principles and to select the top four that are most important to you. You will use this survey tool to provide feedback. This survey will remain open until December 9 at 11:59 PM. Feedback from this survey will be shared with the School Board and to help inform their discussion on December 15th.
- Consider joining the boundary advisory committee. The application closes on December 13 at 11:59 PM. The School Board will be discussing the member selection process at the December 15 School Board Meeting. To apply to be part of the advisory committee, use this survey tool.
The next meeting in which the boundary process will be discussed is Tuesday, December 15, beginning at 5:30 PM. To watch that meeting live, visit youtube.com/ISD535
View the
Presentation Slides
From the meeting on December 3rd, on the boundary adjustment process.
Watch the Replay Online
December 3, 2020
December 3, 2020
On December 3, a virtual meeting will be help for staff and the public to learn more about the boundary adjustment process. This meeting occurs on December 3 at 6:00 PM. To join this Microsoft Teams Virtual Session, use this link: https://bit.ly/3pkWxNu.
November 11, 2020
November 11, 2020
On November 10, the School Board had a study session on the topic of boundaries.
A brief recap of yesterday's conversation:
- As part of the voter approved referendum that passed on November 5, 2019, the School Board must adjust attendance areas (boundaries) for the start of the 2022-2023 school year.
- Our goal is to make a boundary adjustment decision no later than September 2021 to allow families time (an entire school year) to plan for any changes.
- Scott Leopold and Matt Sachs from Cooperative Strategies, our consultants in this process, presented information to the School Board regarding the upcoming boundary adjustments process.
- A virtual session for staff and the public to learn more about the boundary adjustment process will be held on December 3 at 6:00 PM. To join this Microsoft Teams Virtual Session, use this link: https://bit.ly/3pkWxNu
- RPS will keep staff and the public updated on any opportunities to share a voice in this process as that information becomes available.
- Find more information on BoardDocs.
School Board
Meeting Replay
A replay of this is available to watch at YouTube.com/ISD535.
November 10, 2020
Rochester Public Schools is currently designing and constructing four new schools. The schools are being funded by the voter-approved bond referendum that passed on November 5, 2019. The new NW elementary school will be located on Overland Drive NW, the new NW middle school will be located on 65th Street NW, the new Longfellow elementary school will be located a couple blocks southeast of the current Longfellow elementary school, and the new Bishop elementary school will be reconstructed on the same site after the current Bishop elementary school is demolished.
As part of the construction process, the District must redraw attendance areas (boundary lines) to include the new schools. The result of the process means most schools should have less students than they do today. In an ideal situation, schools will be balanced so they are approximately 90-95% at capacity, which allows for fluctuations in students over time and allows the new boundary lines to stay in place longer. The District last made significant boundary adjustments in 2008, effective for the 2009-2010 school year which coincided with opening the District’s then newest elementary school (Gibbs.)
The boundary adjustment process begins on November 10, 2020, with a public discussion about the School Board’s role in the process. The boundary adjustment process will be led by Cooperative Strategies, a national consulting firm already familiar with the District. As part of the process, Cooperative Strategies will work with a representative committee and will provide opportunities for public comment and feedback about the proposals as they are being developed by the committee. The first opportunity for the public to hear more about the boundary adjustment process and ask questions of Cooperative Strategies will be at an online meeting scheduled for December 3, 2020 at 6:00 PM.
The timeline for the boundary adjustment process has the School Board making a final decision on boundary adjustments by September 2021, effective for the 2022-2023 school year.
May 2020
The District will adjust boundaries beginning in the 2022-2023 school year. The 2022-2023 school year is the year that the buildings would be open for our students.
The District's goal is to provide a recommendation on boundary changes to the school board in September 2021, which would be one year in advance of the boundary changes taking effect in September 2022. Boundary decisions have not been made at this time.
The Facilities Task Force proposed boundaries earlier in the referendum process (late Fall 2018) as a concept. These are not final boundaries. There will be opportunities for community input regarding boundaries, once we get to that point.