Rochester Public Schools approves $1.2 million to purchase literacy curriculum

Jordan Shearer, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Apr. 24—ROCHESTER — Before long, multiple semi trucks worth of reading material will back up to the doorstep of Rochester Public Schools.

That's the amount of resources it will take to pivot strategies when it comes to the science of reading. The Rochester School Board on Tuesday, April 23, approved $1.2 million for the purchase of new curriculum that will align the district with the requirements of Minnesota's new Read Act.

"What a monumental moment this is," Board Chairwoman Cathy Nathan said. "This is a rocket about to launch ... and I'm very excited to see where it goes."

The Minnesota Legislature passed the Read Act in 2023, essentially changing the way schools teach literacy to students.

According to RPS data,

the percentage of elementary students reading at grade level in the spring of 2023 ranged from 62% to 64.5%.

During a study session on April 16, Superintendent Kent Pekel said the state's new legislation came about during a time when the district was already looking at other options for curriculum.

Now that it's been approved, there will be a lot of it en route. RPS Chief Administrative Officer John Carlson described the volume of materials that will be needed for a district the size of Rochester.

"When that comes, it's going to be 90 pallets, they're estimating," Carlson said. "It's going to be multiple semi-loads. We don't even know where we're going to put it yet."

The district will be reimbursed for 30% of the cost of the curriculum. However, there's also proposed legislation that, if approved, would provide even more funding to support the Read Act and its implementation.

School Board member Justin Cook, who campaigned on the need to increase literacy rates, spoke highly of the change during the study session.

"I really think this is the big opportunity for our school district," Cook said. "We have been providing really high-quality literacy instruction for a long time in pockets, but we haven't been able to do it at scale and in a coherent way."