Dear RPS Community,

We are thrilled to partner with you as we commit to providing every student with exceptional opportunities to succeed. Our focus is on supporting the whole student, meeting their unique needs with outstanding academic options and wraparound services to help them flourish on their individual paths.

This year marks an exciting time for our district as we begin developing a new strategic plan. This collaborative process will create a roadmap for our future, ensuring our resources are aligned to deliver on our core commitments, from providing academic experiences to building a vibrant sense of belonging for every student. We are dedicated to refining our processes to offer proactive support for all learners.

A cornerstone of our mission is to build belonging with every student. We strive to create a positive and inclusive environment where differences are celebrated, individual perspectives are embraced, and every child feels safe and valued. This Student Handbook is a vital resource in that effort. 

In our schools, teachers and staff will clearly explain and model expectations for all areas. We aim to work together, providing instruction, practice, and encouragement to help students make positive choices. This handbook clearly outlines those shared expectations and explains the potential outcomes when they are not met. By creating a common understanding of behavior, we ensure our schools can focus on our primary mission: preparing students for success here in Rochester and beyond.

Your partnership is essential. Please take some time to read this important document and discuss it with your children. When we work together, we can help our students stay in class and school, ready to seize the many learning opportunities available daily.

If you have any questions about this handbook or the support we offer, please do not hesitate to contact your child's principal or our Office of School Leadership & Student Engagement at 507.328.4300.

Thank you for being part of our community. Together, we are inspiring our community's future and preparing the next generation to be active and invested citizens. We look forward to a wonderful year of learning and growth.

Sincerely,

Kent Pekel, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

If you have questions regarding discipline, please contact the Office of School Leadership and Student Engagement Contact Information.

Rochester Public School’s mission is to inspire, challenge, and empower all students with the knowledge and skills required to reach their full potential, to contribute to future generations, and to become involved members of a global community. RPS has high expectations for student behavior and requires that all students demonstrate responsibility and appropriate behavior in the classroom, on school grounds, and at school-sponsored events and activities. RPS is committed to providing a safe, supportive, and orderly educational environment for all students.

RPS approach to student discipline is designed to utilize evidence-based research in an effort to avoid situations in which students are unnecessarily removed from the classroom environment. To that end, RPS employs Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports, commonly called PBIS. PBIS is a framework that assists schools in identifying and implementing research-based behavioral interventions in an effort to improve social and academic outcomes for all students. PBIS is based on the idea that students learn appropriate behavior through instruction, practice, feedback, and encouragement. Key features of PBIS include: outlining a clear set of defined positive expectations and behaviors, the teaching of expected behaviors, recognition of meeting expected behaviors, monitoring and correcting errors in behaviors, and using data-based information for decision-making, monitoring, and evaluating results at individual school sites.

Another aspect of PBIS involves the identification of three to five guiding behavioral expectations for students that are positively stated and easy to remember. RPS places a district-wide emphasis on the following three guiding expectations: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe. Behavioral expectations are taught to students using examples of specific positive behaviors that fall within these three expectations. Each school site has a PBIS team, which is responsible for creating specific school-wide examples of appropriate behavior based on these guiding principles. These examples are incorporated into a behavior matrix that is used at each school site.

Maintaining a safe, productive environment in school and in the classroom is a priority at RPS. RPS is also committed to administering student discipline in a manner that ensures the fair and equitable treatment of all students when a staff member makes a disciplinary referral or imposes disciplinary sanctions.

The RPS School Board has adopted Policy 506, which outlines the School Board’s expectations for student behavior and a Code of Student Conduct outlining examples of unacceptable student behavior. A copy of Policy 506 is included in the Appendix to this Handbook. This Handbook incorporates the expectations outlined in Policy 506 and provides information regarding how RPS Administration enforces the provisions of Policy 506.

Students must follow the provisions of Policy 506 and this Handbook before, during, and after school. The expectations outlined in Policy 506 and this Handbook apply inside school buildings, on school grounds, and at school-related activities and events. Students must also follow these expectations on school buses or vans and at bus stops. An off-campus violation of these expectations may result in disciplinary action taken by RPS if the violation has a direct and immediate effect on school discipline or the general safety and welfare of students or if the violation is a continuation of or has a nexus with misconduct that occurred on school grounds or at a school event. 

Students and families should also note that the Minnesota State High School League (“MSHSL”) has behavioral expectations that apply to students who participate in MSHSL-sanctioned activities. The MSHSL’s Official Handbook is available online at www.mshsl.org. 

RPS approach to student discipline aims to help students learn good behavior and to limit situations in which students are removed from their classroom or from school. To that end, RPS staff address student behavior issues using a two-level approach. Level I issues involve minor infractions that are addressed in the classroom by a teacher, educator support professionals, or other personnel. Level II issues involve more serious infractions that require an office referral and are addressed by a school administrator or district-level administrator. Specific definitions for Level I and Level II offenses are included in the Appendix to this Handbook.

Rochester Public School believes technology can enhance students’ learning experiences by creating opportunities for personalized and relevant learning. Technology can be a tool to amplify student voices and empower them to think critically, communicate, collaborate, solve problems, and become digital citizens.