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Rochester Public Schools' new chief academic officer emphasizes literacy and schedule changes to expand interventions
Summary
At a July 23 study session, Chief Academic Officer Mona Perkins told the Rochester Public School District board she will prioritize early literacy and redesigning elementary master schedules so staff can deliver coordinated Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions, stressing the link between reading instruction and equity.
Mona Perkins, the new Chief Academic Officer for the Rochester Public School District, told the school board at its July 23 study session that early literacy and better scheduling are central to her office’s work to improve student outcomes.
Perkins introduced herself by describing her family’s immigrant experience and her path from an English-learner student in St. Paul Public Schools to teacher, principal and system leader. “Schools helped my family learn to navigate a system,” she said, and that experience shaped her commitment to ensuring schools are “fierce advocates for the kids.”
The nut of Perkins’s message was both instructional and operational: invest in evidence-based early literacy instruction and change how elementary schools schedule time so interventions reach students when they need them. She described using a coordinated master schedule — blocking specialist and lunch times, staggering 90‑minute instructional cycles and creating shared small-group reading windows — so teachers and interventionists can form focused groups across classrooms.
“It’s critical that we schedule across the grade level so that we can share staff and add additional staff,” Perkins said, arguing that scheduling is the practical lever that makes Tier 2 small-group instruction feasible. She added that implementing curriculum and professional development is only “part one” and that ongoing in-class support is vital.
Board members responded positively and asked how the office would partner with families and community groups to provide enrichment and address non-academic barriers. Perkins said schools can house pop-up food shelves, after-school programs and other partnerships where needed, tailored to each school’s community.
Perkins also noted that some work will be tested this fall, including hypotheses about master-schedule changes and their effect on intervention time. The board and superintendent agreed to continue supporting literacy initiatives and to track implementation progress.
The board moved on to other agenda items after thanking Perkins for the presentation; the district will continue to discuss specific scheduling and staffing steps during the fall implementation planning cycle.
