Byron schools outline planning year for Achievement Integration grant with Rochester

District staff updated the board on the three‑year Achievement Integration grant, explaining why Byron qualifies and how the district will use the upcoming grant year.

Staff said Byron qualifies for the grant because it shares a geographic boundary with Rochester, which is designated as a racially isolated school (RIS); Byron is an adjoining district. The grant requires a three‑year plan with goals in student achievement, teacher equity, and integration with the RIS district. Staff said Rochester is revising its strategic plan, so the districts and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) recommended using the next grant year as a planning year.

For year one, Byron’s integration goal will be to cooperate with Rochester and other adjoining districts to build a two‑year integration strategy. Staff said Byron will set separate achievement and teacher equity goals specific to Byron in subsequent years. The district reported the current year’s Achievement Integration allocation totaled a little over $130,000; that funding was applied in part to a career teacher’s salary at the high school and mainly to elementary reading curriculum.

Staff told the board the proposed budget for the ANI (Achievement and Integration) grant is due in about two weeks and that staff would prepare the submission.

The board had no substantive edits to the plan at the meeting; the next steps are finalizing the budget and continuing coordinated planning with Rochester and MDE.