The RPS School Board on Tuesday, October 20, approved RPS 2030, the district's new strategic plan. The plan sets the direction for the district's work over the next four years and is organized around four priorities: Challenging Learning, Purposeful Pathways, Supportive Communities, and Organizational Excellence. Read the full plan: https://www.rochesterschools.org/rps-2030
Spending time volunteering at school is more than just lending a hand - it’s about giving your time, sharing smiles, inspiring young minds, and creating connections! Every volunteer brings something valuable to our schools. Your time and talents make great impact on our students and staff! Learn more about volunteering at RPS by visiting our website at volunteer.rochesterschools.org
Maybe you've seen the words "permanent school fund" around and have been wondering what it means and why it will be on the ballot this fall. Note that to support the amendment, you must vote “YES.” Leaving the question blank counts as a "NO" vote. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Early Voting and absentee voting have begun.
If you cannot attend in person, you can livestream the meeting at https://www.youtube.com/isd535.
You can view all full meeting agendas at https://rochesterschools.org/simbli.
This week, our students took big steps toward their goals at the College Fairs held at our three big high schools. From exploring a wide range of post-secondary options to connecting directly with representatives, students gathered valuable insights and began visualizing themselves beyond high school.
Today, 38 students from Bamber Valley Elementary and Gage Elementary joined forces at the Edison Building to collaborate and get trained in being a Reading Mentor for younger students. These students will be mentoring Kindergarten students for about 10 minutes every single day before school starts.
The students heard from a couple of Keynote Mentors in the community, including Adrianna Cordell, who was once a Reading Mentor herself and is now a teacher in the district. Abdi "Axe" Ahmed also came in to discuss leadership and opportunities to make a difference for the students.
Students worked hard during training because they know they have an important role in mentoring younger students and providing opportunities for them to succeed.
Mni Sota means "the land where the mist rises above the water"—just one of the Dakota interpretations of the name. Today, Tribal Nations play a vital role in preserving language, culture, spirituality, and the environment. In honor of our Native students and families, we seek to be good relatives to one another.
Photo of 2026 Oskate Wacipi, on May 16. Photo Credit to DMC Creative.
Blue skies, crisp autumn air, and Panther pride on full display! What a picture-perfect day for the Century Homecoming parade. Huge shoutout to the marching band, all the incredible student floats, and everyone who lined the streets to bring the energy! Now let’s carry that momentum right onto the field tonight—GO PANTHERS!
[Interested in learning more about this? Join Superintendent Dr. Kent Pekel at the League of Women Voters' forum on October 12 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Rochester Public Library Auditorium as he talks about this.]
Did you know that every public school student in Minnesota is part of a trust fund? Minnesota owns state public lands that generate revenue from timber, mining, and land leases. That money is placed into a protected investment trust dedicated strictly to supporting public school districts across the state. Due to investment growth, the fund has expanded from $675 million in 2010 to more than $2.3 billion today, but distributions have not kept pace because of outdated constitutional restrictions. This November, Minnesota voters can vote to increase the fund.
What does this ballot question change?
Sends more money to classrooms: Current constitutional rules limit payouts primarily to interest and dividends, restricting how much money reaches schools. The amendment modernizes the formula to increase the annual distribution from 2-2.5% to 4.5% of the fund's total value, significantly increasing payments to all Minnesota public schools.
Zero tax increase: It does not raise property, income, or sales taxes. It uses money already sitting in an existing investment fund.
Bipartisan agreement: The update was unanimously recommended by a nonpartisan task force and received strong bipartisan support in both the Minnesota House and Senate.
Under Minnesota law, a constitutional amendment must receive approval from a majority of all voters. Skipping the question has the exact same mathematical impact as actively voting against it. To support the amendment, you must vote "YES." Leaving the question blank counts as a "NO" vote. You can learn more about this at www.mnpsfamendment.org.
Happy feet, happy kids, happy school! Today students from Bamber Valley Elementary School took part in the annual National Walk & Roll to School Day! We loved watching our students demonstrate safe walking routes while sharing an important message to our community: safety comes first! Thank you to our community partners for helping make this event a success.
Students spent the day learning how to navigate Rochester, practicing using the RPT app, and testing out loading their bikes onto bus racks. One of the biggest surprises of the day? Most students were shocked to learn you have to be 15 to ride electric bikes!
A huge shoutout to the students who stepped up and took the Week Without Driving pledge—and to our City of Rochester staff and Safe Routes to School partners for helping everyone build confidence traveling around our city.
To learn more about Week Without Driving, visit https://bit.ly/4dlciyG
If you cannot attend in person, you can livestream the meeting at https://www.youtube.com/isd535.
You can view all full meeting agendas at https://rochesterschools.org/simbli.
Do you need a new mattress? Are you looking for a way to support our high school bands? Come get a better night's sleep AND support the 6th Annual Rochester High School Band Mattress Fundraiser! We carry BRAND NEW, fully warrantied, quality name-brand mattresses like Simmons, Beautyrest, and Therapedic, priced below retail. This one-day event will have an entire mattress store set up in the Rochester John Marshall High School Gym, and profits go directly to the bands!
Join us on Sunday, October 4, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at John Marshall High School (1510 14th St NW, Rochester, MN 55901)
The RPS Safe Routes to School program offers a mobile fleet of secondary school bicycles to support engaging, standards-aligned learning experiences throughout the school year. This fleet is 100% supported by MnDot & community grants and the in-kind time of our numerous volunteers. The program helps schools meet Minnesota's Active Transportation Safety Training requirements, and even goes beyond basic bicycle safety.
Results released today on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) showed that Rochester Public Schools' proficiency rate in reading was above the state's for the first time in fourteen years. In math and science, while the state is down, RPS students made modest but meaningful gains. Read more: https://www.rochesterschools.org/article/3161318
Joe "Joe(Y)" Christenson
Justin M. Cook
Pat "Pot" Farmer
Ana Folpe
Flora Howie
Josh Koestler
Joe LaForge
Jean Marvin
Cathy Nathan
John Peck
School board positions will be listed on the back of the ballot. More information about each candidate can be found on the Secretary of State's website: https://myballotmn.sos.mn.gov.
