District-Wide Schools

The RPS Spanish Immersion program cultivates a multilingual and multicultural learning community through language immersion, academic rigor, and cross-cultural experiences.

Spanish immersion is an approach to education in which learning and instruction is conducted in Spanish. The Gage Spanish Immersion program is a 90/10 model. This means that Spanish is the only language of instruction in Kindergarten and in first grade, which makes up 90% of days.  The 10% of English instruction for kindergarten and first grade students is during specials. Students start receiving some English instruction in the classroom near the end of second grade, with more English instruction being added every year until 5th grade, at which time about half of instruction is in English and about half of instruction is in Spanish. The immersion program uses the same curricula as non-immersion classrooms in the district. For more information, check out the Gage Spanish Immersion website.

To arrange a tour, please call (507) 328-3400.

Friedell provides students a smaller middle school environment with all the advantages of a larger school. Not only is the environment beneficial, but in addition to standard curriculum, Friedell also offers extended opportunities for gifted and talented students and  a highly gifted program for all grades based on admission. Transportation is also provided for all students outside of walking distance.

 To arrange a tour, please call (507) 328-5650.

The mission of Lincoln is to educate and empower our children in a family-oriented and creative community by cultivating excellence. Staff use a thematic approach to deliver curriculum which support the individual learning styles of the whole child. Our innovative science curriculum supports academic excellence and is fostering the next generation of talented and creative scientists. We are a creative community that incorporates visual arts, music and class productions in grades K-8.

To arrange a tour, please call (507) 328-3550.

Longfellow follows a 45/15 instructional calendar with school beginning the last week of July after a six-week summer vacation. Students attend school each of the four instructional quarters for approximately 45 days followed by 15 days of vacation. Benefits of the 45/15 schedule include greater student retention and less reteaching due to the strategically placed breaks, consistent teaching time, and positive school culture. Our staff is highly creative with the infusion of research based differentiation models to meet the needs of our learners. As a one-to-one technology school, every student utilizes an iPad throughout the school day for instruction. 

To arrange a tour, please call (507) 328-3600.

Montessori at Franklin is a school within Franklin Elementary School. The Montessori approach to education embraces individualized instruction for children, mixed-age groupings, a structured curriculum, and a prepared environment using specialized Montessori teaching materials. Montessori classrooms allow children to move, touch, manipulate, and explore specifically designed learning materials with both direct and indirect teaching to foster their journey from concrete to abstract. Since Montessori education is based on the inner motivation of the child, the teacher’s role is to develop and work a student's motivation in ways that will enhance each child’s learning experience.

To arrange a tour, please call (507) 328-3300.

Washington uses a curriculum based on the Core Knowledge Sequence, a rich and rigorous body of information in American and world history, geography, science, literature, music and art. It is our belief that the most effective elementary education balances high expectations for mastery of basic reading, math, writing, and technology skills with a solid foundation of factual information in the content areas. The area of reading stresses systematic phonics instruction in the primary grades and builds vocabulary, comprehension and reading fluency throughout the grades and reading instruction is supplemented with classic literature recommended in the Core Knowledge Sequence. Math instruction uses a traditional style focused on the MN state standards with an emphasis on mastery of basic math facts, computation skills, concepts, and problem solving.

To arrange a tour, please call (507) 328-3800.