Rochester schools present RPS 2030 community feedback: class size, communication and mental health top concerns
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Summary
District staff presented a synthesis of hundreds of stakeholder responses for the RPS 2030 strategic plan. Common themes included class size and staffing, family communication, middle‑school engagement, counselor ratios, multilingual outreach and mental‑health supports; staff said design committees will refine recommendations before a March return to the board.
Rochester Public Schools officials on Jan. 6 presented a consolidated report of community feedback gathered to inform the district’s RPS 2030 strategic plan, highlighting recurring concerns about class size, communication and social‑emotional supports.
"The single most consistent concern that we heard across all levels was class size and adequate staffing," said Denise Moody, the district’s director of policy and innovation, summarizing input gathered through surveys, focus groups, multilingual world cafés (Spanish and Somali), student conversations and 38 key‑informant interviews. Moody said that parents, students and staff also raised issues about excessive screen time at younger grades, insufficient recess and the need for clearer, simpler family communication platforms.
Superintendent Kent Pickell said the district is combining the feedback with data-driven targets and the work of three design committees (elementary, middle and high school) supported by Education First, a national education improvement organization. Pickell said the district expects design committees to finish in January and provide recommendations that will be routed to the superintendent in early February, with another community feedback round expected in March.
Board members elaborated on common themes. Director Whitehorn (Stephanie Whitehorn) and others emphasized the importance of family engagement and clearer communications channels. Board members repeatedly returned to middle school as a critical juncture where students need relevance and belonging to prepare for high school; several members urged attention to counselor ratios and postsecondary transition supports.
The presentation also described targeted outreach to historically underrepresented communities: world cafés for Spanish‑ and Somali‑speaking families and partnerships with Latino LEAD and the Minnesota Equity Education Partnership. Staff said work is supported in part by Education First and a grant from Mayo Clinic that is underwriting district strategic‑planning efforts.
Moody said district staff and design committees will synthesize this input into measurable improvement targets and the draft strategic plan for board review and public input in March.
Next procedural step: staff will return with recommendations from school‑level design committees and additional community feedback ahead of a proposed board review in March.
