Latest news with #RochesterPublicSchools
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rochester Public Schools is waiting to see the outcome from the $7 billion of federal funds in limbo
Jul. 3—ROCHESTER — Although The U.S. Department of Education has withheld nearly $7 billion in funding from schools across the country, it's not yet clear what kind of impact that will have for Rochester Public Schools. On June 30, the U.S. Department of Education sent a notification to state agencies, notifying them that the release of the funding was still under consideration. That update began sounding alarm bells for schools and education advocates alike. "This is not just a budget cut — it's an assault on the rule of law and our commitment to every child's right to a quality education," said Monica Byron, president of Education Minnesota, which is the statewide teachers union. "By withholding funding that Congress has already approved, the Trump administration is playing politics with our children's futures." According to the publication EducationWeek, the federal funding that has been withheld from schools amounts to $6.8 billion. RPS Communications Director Mamisoa Knutson said the district is monitoring the situation and "waiting to see what that means" for local programs. Although federal funding doesn't provide the bulk of Rochester Public Schools' budget, it still represents millions of dollars for the district. In 2024-25, federal funding comprised 4% of the district's budget, which amounted to $17.08 million. The Minnesota Department of Education provided a copy of the notification it received from the federal government to the Post Bulletin. According to MDE Communications Director Sam Snuggerud, the federal government issued an individual notice for the funding associated with each program. However, the notifications only differed in the name of the program. They read: "Given the change in Administrations, the Department is reviewing the FY 2025 funding for the [Title I-C, II-A, III-A, IV-A, IV-B] grant program(s), and decisions have not yet been made concerning submissions and awards for this upcoming academic year. Accordingly, the Department will not be issuing Grant Award Notifications obligating funds for these programs on July 1 prior to completing that review. The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President's priorities and the Department's statutory responsibilities." Even before the federal department issued the notice, state agencies were beginning to worry about the delay in the funding. On June 26, The Minnesota Department of Education sent a letter to its federal counterpart, asking when it could expect to receive information on the matter. MDE Commissioner Willie Jett's letter listed a number of programs that rely on the funding. They include those that aid English-language proficiency, support teacher development and retention, and provide academic enrichment opportunities "outside of school hours for students who attend low-performing schools." "At this writing, Minnesota has not received critical information for school districts to obligate federal funding in time for a July 1 deadline," Jet wrote in his June 26 letter. "While the most recent state tables posted on ED's website include updated figures, these programs are notably absent. Without this information, and with July 1 approaching, it is not possible for schools, districts, and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) to complete the steps needed to begin obligating these funds as scheduled."
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Two leaders of American Indian Education move on from Rochester Public Schools
Jun. 18—ROCHESTER — Both leaders tasked with overseeing Rochester Public Schools' Native American Education program are moving on from the district. On Tuesday, June 17, the Rochester School Board recognized the work of Amelia Cordell and Tucker Quetone. "Together, Amelia and Tucker have helped ensure that the Indigenous students of RPS feel seen, heard, and supported," said Will Ruffin II, RPS director of equity and engagement. Quetone has been with the district for more than 30 years in a number of different roles, including those of teacher and teachers union president. He's currently listed as an American Indian Liaison. "When I came to the district in the fall of 1992, I didn't think I would be here this long," he said. "I leave with a heart full of great memories, wonderful friends and colleagues, accomplishments that I've seen through the years in the district moving forward, especially with Indian Education." Cordell, who is the RPS coordinator of American Indian Education, has been with the district for the past three years. "I am going home to the reservation," Cordell told the School Board members. "I'm going to be the director of our Safe Home program. I'm going to be making sure 36 kiddos have a safe place after they've been kind of put out into the world." According to biography on the district's website, Cordell is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate (Dakota Nation) in norteastern South Dakota. According to the Minnesota Department of Education, there are 121 Native American students in Rochester Public Schools. According to the district's website, however, Cordell and Quetone serve more than 245 Native students from 45 tribal nations. Although Native students comprise a smaller percentage of students in the district overall, RPS has a number of initiatives to highlight the culture and legacy of Native nations. It hosts an annual pow-wow, and in 2021 the district named its newest middle school "Dakota." Following the legislative session of 2023, the district also began developing a class focused on American Indian language and culture. "It's always been a labor of love for me, but also one of struggle," Quetone said. "It seems there's always challenges and setbacks along the way. But as I look back, I see so much progress."
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Rochester Public Schools appeals loss of federal grant, pledges not to factor in race for program selection
May 28—ROCHESTER — Rochester Public Schools has submitted a two-page appeal to the U.S. Department of Education regarding the discontinuation of a $1.9 million grant originally meant to increase the number of mental health workers in the school district, particularly those from "underrepresented backgrounds." RPS was originally awarded the grant in 2023. The Department of Education notified RPS earlier this month that it would discontinue the grant because of the priorities of the new administration. In its appeal, RPS said it will no longer make decisions based on race if it is allowed to keep the grant. "We agree to not use any factors related to race, gender or sexual orientation to select or support candidates for the grant program," Superintendent Kent Pekel wrote in the letter. "Our focus is on merit, excellence, and meeting the urgent mental health needs of our students." RPS Communications Director Mamisoa Knutson said the district is unaware when or if it will receive a response to the appeal. The grant was part of a partnership between Rochester Public Schools and Winona State University. When it was first awarded to RPS, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar visited Rochester to mark the occasion. In an earlier statement about the grant cancellation, Pekel wrote that the program was helping "fill a gap that Rochester Public Schools cannot fill on its own: enabling talented people who are already working in our school system to earn the licenses and degrees that they need to provide students with counseling and other forms of mental health support." In the original notice about the grant's discontinuation, the Department of Education gave a handful of possible reasons for discontinuing the grant without directly saying what the reason was. "The Department has undertaken a review of grants and determined that the grant specified above provides funding for programs that reflect the prior Administration's priorities and policy preferences and conflict with those of the current Administration, in that the programs: violate the letter or purpose of Federal civil rights law; conflict with the Department's policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in education; undermine the well-being of the students these programs are intended to help; or constitute an inappropriate use of federal funds." Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the federal government has moved to reverse many existing policies aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion. Although Pekel indicated in the appeal that the district would not take racial factors into account when administering the grant, he also explained that it was partially meant to be a way to support individuals from minority groups. "While the original grant guidelines encouraged consideration of applicants from underrepresented backgrounds, RPS has implemented the program in a balanced manner," Pekel wrote. "Two-thirds of participants are people of color or Indigenous individuals, while one-third are white. This reflects our commitment to both diversity and merit-based selection." The district's response to the letter also criticized the Department of Education's decision to discontinue the grant, saying that the "premature termination of this grant" would waste the funding that has already been invested in the mental health initiative. "This program represents exactly the type of innovative, merit-based approach needed to address the critical mental health needs of our students," Pekel wrote in the letter. "The termination of this grant sends a troubling message about the federal government's commitment to student mental health and efficient use of taxpayer resources."
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rochester Public Schools sees highest graduation rate since 2018, including 10% gain among Black students
May 7—ROCHESTER — In 2024, Rochester Public Schools recorded its highest graduation rate since 2018, which included a 10% increase among Black students. The Minnesota Department of Education released statewide 2024 graduation rates on Wednesday, May 7. RPS' graduation rate among Black students reached 84.13%, up from 74.04% in 2023. That gain for Black students in 2024 came after the group experienced a 10% drop the year before , meaning the 2024 rate essentially gained back the ground that had been lost between 2022 and 2023. "That has been a real focus over the course of this year," Superintendent Kent Pekel said, explaining that the district made a point to work with the high schools to make sure their Black student populations stayed on track to graduate. "There was a pretty explicit focus on making sure those kids were not falling through the cracks." The overall graduation rate at Rochester Public Schools for the class of 2024 was 85.9%, representing a 2% increase over the year before. The RPS graduation rate was higher than the statewide rate, which was 84.2%. The RPS graduation rate among white students was 89.7%, a figure that is mostly unchanged from the 2023 class, which was at 90.7% The graduation rate among Asian students was 89.2%, which was an increase from the 82.39% recorded in 2023. Students of "two or more races" had a graduation rate of 86.3%, which was down nearly 4 points from the 90.1% recorded in 2023. Although Hispanic students recorded the lowest graduation rate among racial demographics at 71.0%, that was an increase from the 64.5% recorded in the class of 2023. When asked about the rate among Hispanic students, Pekel explained a reason for it being lower than for other cohorts is because it's a more mobile demographic. "The challenge there is having a program that provides them with educational continuity over time," Pekel said. "That's the work that really lies ahead of us in a lot of ways." Among Rochester's three high schools, Mayo had the highest graduation rate, at 92.6%, followed by Century at 91.7%, and John Marshall at 89.4%. Although Mayo and John Marshall's graduation rates were within a percentage point of the year before, Century recorded a gain of 3.1%. The largest single-school gain was at the Alternative Learning Center, which recorded an increase of 15.7%, for a 2024 graduation rate of 72.3%. Pekel went on to highlight the district's initiative of incorporating something known as "multi-tiered systems of support," which is a strategy for providing additional support for struggling students. "We're identifying the kids who need more support," Pekel said. Among surrounding districts, Byron's graduation rate was the highest at 95.18%, followed by Plainview-Elgin-Millville at 95.15%, Kasson-Mantorville at 93.59%, Stewartville at 92.62%, Pine Island at 89.36%, Chatfield at 89.33% and Dover-Eyota at 87.5%.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
In February email, principals union expressed concerns over Rochester Public Schools' new budget model
Apr. 14—ROCHESTER — In an email sent to the administration of Rochester Public Schools in February, the district's principals union expressed concern about the implementation of the new method RPS is using to finance its school operations. Dubbed the "Balanced Budget Model," the district leadership says it will give individual schools more flexibility in how they spend their resources and require them to rely less heavily on decisions from the central office. The change also would result in the redistribution of state and federal funding the district receives for specific student groups. Despite the increased autonomy for schools, the new model has prompted hesitation from Rochester's principals who are concerned about reductions taking place in their schools despite the fact that local voters agreed to provide more taxes for education during a referendum in November. "I believe our balanced budget model comes from a place of well-intentioned district staff doing the best with the information that they have at the time," wrote Overland Elementary Principal Jared Groehler, who's also president of the principals union. "With that being said, I also want to share on behalf of our Rochester Principals Association membership some large concerns that we have with the process and the budget thus far." The letter, dated Feb. 18, was not released to the public. The Post Bulletin obtained a copy through a records request to the district. The Rochester School Board approved the Balanced Budget Model in January. District officials are now in the process of building the budget for 2025-26 around the new model. The principals' letter outlined several concerns with the proposal. One is that schools are having to make cuts for the year ahead, despite the fact that local voters approved increasing property taxes dedicated to education. Groehler highlighted that, at the time he sent the email, there was no staffing dedicated at the elementary level for reading specialists in the upcoming year. He also highlighted the fact that multiple schools were having to reduce the number of social workers. "The thing that we are struggling with is the degree to which it seems that cuts are being made across our buildings, when we passed a referendum to avoid cuts," Groehler wrote in the email. "When messaging comes that this will keep us from making cuts, and then it seems as though we are going to have to make significant cuts (school social workers, reading specialists, instructional coaches, equity specialists, and other positions), it leaves a lot of questions. It also leaves space for a lot of narratives to be created." Superintendent Kent Pekel responded to the principals' letter three days later, on Feb. 21. He clarified that by the time the school board approves the 2025-26 budget in June, there will be funding designated for student supports, including $516,235 for reading specialists and curriculum. However, he also clarified that the approval of more funding during the referendum would not necessarily equate to the same staffing levels in the schools. Instead, Pekel emphasized that the district is facing the prospect of decreasing enrollment. Since school districts receive both state funding and locally-generated taxes on a per-pupil basis, lower enrollment means less funding from both revenue sources. In other words, he attributed the reductions in staffing to shrinking student body rather than district's new funding model. RPS's enrollment for 2025-26 is projected to be 16,441. If that proves accurate, it would be a decrease of 730 students from the current year. It also would be a decrease of just over 1,700 since the district's enrollment peaked at more than 18,000 during the 2019-20 year. "Passage of the referendum could not shield our schools and our district from declining enrollment," Pekel wrote in his response to the principals. "During the referendum campaign we said that if the referendum passed, we would not need to raise class sizes, close schools, or make major cuts in programs. All of those things are still true. We did not say there would be no budget reductions in the years ahead." According to a presentation on the Balanced Budget Model in January, the district's central office would control 80% of school budgets, giving individual buildings more autonomy in how they choose to spend the remaining dollars. The model would give schools flexibility when it comes to how they fund assistant principals, how many teachers they hire beyond the minimum required to meet the standard student-to-teacher ratio, as well as in regard to decisions related to reading specialists, supply budgets, equity specialists, and professional development, among other expenses. Part of the Balanced Budget Model also proposed the redistribution of compensatory funding and Title I funding, which is state and federal aid given to districts that have a higher percentage of underperforming students. Minnesota law only requires school districts to spend 80% of compensatory funding on the schools that generate the revenue, meaning that the district could use the remaining 20% for other purposes. Now, however, Rochester Public Schools will be dedicating 100% of the compensatory revenue to those schools that generate it. According to the district's presentation from January, there would be a "tighter focus on how schools can use (compensatory) funds based upon nine authorized uses." In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature amended the number of allowable uses for compensatory aid, essentially removing schools' ability to use the funding for assistant principals. One of the other concerns outlined by the principals union was in regard to the "rigidity of compensatory funding." Specifically, Groehler's letter highlighted how there is not enough general funding to maintain the "current level of support" when it comes to assistant principals, which he went on to describe as "vital" for schools' improvement plans. He also stressed the importance of office staff. "These receptionists are key to the safe and welcoming learning environment that we have created," Groehler wrote. "You could call it belonging, you could call it family engagement, and many other areas." In his response, Pekel told the principals that the Minnesota Department of Education will no longer allow compensatory funding to pay for the staffing of assistant principals. Despite that, Pekel told the Post Bulletin on April 11 that the district is working to fund those positions through other means. Pekel also told the Post Bulletin that the recently-approved version of the balanced budget model should be thought of as an initial version "because the system can only adapt to so much change in a single year." In a memo he released in January when the School Board voted to approve the new model, Pekel described it as a way to achieve two goals. One goal, he said, is that the model "balances the authority about funding and staffing between the school and central office levels." The second goal, Pekel wrote, is that the efficiencies accomplished through the change will "enable the school district to balance its budget on an ongoing basis." In addition to addressing specific issues in the letter from the principals, Pekel said the changes overall are necessary in order to avoid perpetuating the status quo of lagging academic performance. "I think that it is important to note at this critical juncture in our work that by almost every measure, educational outcomes in Rochester Public Schools have been in decline for many years — long preceding the pandemic," Pekel wrote in his response to the principals. "We are doing great work to shift that downward trajectory through changes ... However, if the changes we are putting in place do not also extend to how we use our resources of money, people, and time in our schools, we will not be able to realize the improvements in student achievement and other outcomes that I know we are all committed to."
