The name was approved with a 6-1 vote following a split decision during the previous meeting. 11:13 pm, Feb. 16, 2021 ×
Rendering of the new elementary school in Rochester. (Contributed)
Overland Elementary will be the name of one of Rochester s two new schools being constructed in the northwest quadrant of the city.
The School Board approved the name on Tuesday with a 6-1 vote. Jess Garcia was the sole opposing board member. The decision came after the School Board had a split vote on the same name during its last meeting.
During both meetings, Garcia said she didn t think the top two names that came out of the nomination process were representative enough of the whole community. She acknowledged the community followed the district s request when it was asked for name suggestions, but she still would vote against the Overland option.
Whether it s the right time to return to school in-person depends on who you ask. 5:00 am, Feb. 5, 2021 ×
Andrea Burdick gives her boys Charlie, kindergarten, and Grady, 4th grade, a kiss goodbye after dropping them off for their first day of school at Gibbs Elementary Wednesday morning. Children arrive at George Gibbs Elementary School for the first day of class Wednesday, September 2, 2020. Less than half of the student body attends on alternating days and all students and faculty wear masks as precautions against the spread of COVID-19.(Ken Klotzbach / kklotzbach@postbulletin.com)
Rochester elementary students will report to class on March 1, with no rolling start transition period from its current hybrid learning model to full-time classroom instruction.
Later Start Times For Rochester Schools to Begin This Fall
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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester School Board has decided to speed up the implementation of a change in school start times designed to address the sleep needs of older students.
On a unanimous vote last night, the board approved a resolution to make the change at the beginning of the next school year rather than wait for the fall of 2022. School Board member Karen MacLaughlin brought forward the proposal and noted the original staff recommendation called for the later start times to begin with the 2021 school year and that was changed last November without an opportunity for additional public input. She also pointed to the later start time currently used for distance learning at the middle and high school levels as one of the few silver linings of the pandemic.
School board won t guarantee a return to classrooms for this year. 5:24 am, Jan. 6, 2021 ×
Elementary students in Rochester will return to a hybrid-learning model starting Jan. 19.
But the Rochester School Board decision on Tuesday stopped short of guaranteeing those students would return to an in-person learning model later on, as its COVID-19 advisory committee recommended.
The decision followed three hours of discussion and was approved with a 5-2 vote, with board members Karen MacLaughlin and Julie Workman dissenting.
Workman emphasized the need for consistency. What happens if we go back to hybrid and then a week later everything hits the fan? Workman asked. I think part of the problem is it s a constant yo-yo. I would feel more comfortable with continuing with the distance learning model that we re on now.
School board won t guarantee a return to classrooms for this year. 5:24 am, Jan. 6, 2021 ×
Elementary students in Rochester will return to a hybrid-learning model starting Jan. 19.
But the Rochester School Board decision on Tuesday stopped short of guaranteeing those students would return to an in-person learning model later on, as its COVID-19 advisory committee recommended.
The decision followed three hours of discussion and was approved with a 5-2 vote, with board members Karen MacLaughlin and Julie Workman dissenting.
Workman emphasized the need for consistency. What happens if we go back to hybrid and then a week later everything hits the fan? Workman asked. I think part of the problem is it s a constant yo-yo. I would feel more comfortable with continuing with the distance learning model that we re on now.