Rockford Public Schools Academics

Our Focus:  Ensuring that every student is part of a supportive school community and is given opportunities to find their place and flourish.

• A school district on the rise, Rockford Public Schools' student achievement trend has been increasing steadily and opportunities for academic and career-based experiences lead the region.
• All of our 14 schools are recognized as State of Michigan Blue Ribbon Schools.
• In 2023, all schools in our district earned A's for state testing proficiency and growth.
• Our Student Achievement Results placed Rockford Public Schools in the top three of all districts in Kent County.
• Rockford Public Schools is recognized in the region as a leader in literacy, with a focus on instructional framework and practices.
• College Board recognizes our district as an Advanced Placement district. 
• Our district leads Kent County in opportunities for students to earn college credit.
• College graduate rate = 80%

Academic experiences that ensure personalized learning, rigorous instruction, and readiness for future opportunities.

Purpose: The primary purpose of Rockford Public Schools is to provide high-quality educational opportunities to ensure every student’s readiness for the future. Academic excellence provides students with the necessary skills and knowledge to reach their potential.

Reason: Academic excellence is pursuing intentional and comprehensive education that promotes critical thinking, creativity, and opportunities. It encompasses a dynamic blend of curriculum, instruction, and assessment tailored to meet the diverse needs of all learners. In practice, classrooms are buzzing with engaged students, staff facilitating inquiry-based learning, and a supportive community valuing intellectual curiosity and lifelong learning. Our strategic initiatives aim to cultivate an environment where students can achieve their highest potential and thrive as confident, capable individuals prepared for success.

MI School Data provides access to Rockford Public Schools student achievement data. Directions for navigating the data dashboard are communicated below. 

1. Input "Rockford Public Schools" into the "Search for a School" box.

  2. Click on a school.

  3. Follow the steps below for each report, then use the pull down menus to choose and display 
      specific subjects and student groups.

       A. Student Assessment:
            From the left margin, click "Student Data" and then "Performance".

       B. School Accountability:
            From the left margin, click "School Index" to view Student proficiency and growth on state
            assessments, graduation rates and attendance rates.

Collaborative Culture at Rockford Public Schools

At Rockford Public Schools, productive collaboration is a foundational value and behavior in leading to educational excellence. Our district subscribes to the practices aligned with the Professional Learning Communities Model and believes in a culture where staff members work together to create an environment that supports growth and achievement for every student. Ensuring high levels of learning for every student is our consistent North Star.  

In our schools, collaboration is a shared responsibility for success.   All teachers contribute to their grade level or content area collaborative team aligning their work to the Four PLC Questions:

• What do we want all students to know and be able to do?

• How will we know if they learn it?

• How will we respond when some students do not learn?

• How will we extend the learning for students who are already proficient?

Teachers engage in regular data-driven discussions, sharing best practices and strategies to respond to student learning needs and boost overall student achievement. Together, we celebrate achievements, overcome challenges, and continuously innovate to provide the best educational opportunities for our students.

In addition to collaborative teacher teams at every building, Rockford Public Schools also promotes a collaborative culture by structuring district and building leadership teams that include members from representative positions.  Our district instructional leadership team is called our Academic Excellence Team.   This team includes teacher leaders from every building, content area and grade level.  Including instructional directors, building principals and instructional coaches, this team’s role is to understand student achievement trends in their assigned area and collaboratively learn about and implement strategies to improve learning.

Additionally, every RPS school building has a leadership team called the Building Guiding Coalition. This team includes representative staff members and has the responsibility of understanding and supporting the Professional Learning Communities aligned work to collaborative teams in their building.

RPS Professional Learning Calendar

Innovative Programming at Rockford Public Schools

• AP Seminar
• Counseling Dogs
• Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
• Outdoor Learning
• Spanish Immersion

STEAM 

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics 

Rockford Public Schools has implemented a robust STEAM program for all DK-5 students and opportunities for STEAM courses are offered at the secondary level. 

Design Thinking in a classroom is an incredibly effective method for fostering creativity and problem-solving skills.  It helps students apply knowledge from all the STEAM disciplines in an integrated, hands-on way, while also promoting collaboration, critical thinking and innovative design.

Collaboration in a classroom is a dynamic and engaging experience that emphasizes teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity.  In this setting, students often work in pairs or small groups to tackle projects and challenges, drawing on each other's strengths and ideas to create something together.

Problem Solving in a classroom is all about helping young students approach challenges creatively and logically by using knowledge and skills from science, technology, engineering, art, and math. It’s not just about finding the "right answer," but about exploring, experimenting, and learning through the process.

Resilience in a classroom is the ability for students to bounce back from setbacks, persist through challenges, and keep a positive, growth-focused mindset while working on projects that require creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. In a STEAM  setting, students often encounter problems that don’t have immediate solutions, or they may face obstacles while building, experimenting, or designing. Resilience teaches them how to embrace mistakes, learn from them, and keep going. 

Technology Competency in a classroom is all about helping young students build the foundational skills they need to effectively use and understand technology in a creative, meaningful, and ethical way. It's not just about learning how to use devices, but also about using technology as a tool for problem-solving, exploration, and collaboration across the STEAM disciplines. 

Academically Advanced Programming

Rockford Public Schools is dedicated to providing our at-risk population of high-ability students in grades K-8 with quality, research-based interventions to meet their specific needs.  

Kindergarten-2nd Grades

Qualifying students meet weekly with an Advanced Academic Specialist to enhance and refine critical thinking in reading.  

Qualifying students must meet a set NWEA benchmark in reading AND be recommended by the classroom teacher. Recommended Kindergarten students are screened for verbal ability in early winter. Recommended students in grades 1-2 are screened for verbal ability in early fall.      

3-5th Grades Explore Program

Qualifying students meet weekly with an Advanced Academic Specialist to refine and enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

In early winter, students in 3rd grade are given a universal, non-verbal reasoning test.  An additional screener is given based on meeting specific benchmarks from the non-verbal reasoning test in coordination with meeting district common assessments.  Careful review of all testing data informs the Explore Program placement decision.  

6th Grade Pre-Algebra

Qualifying students participate in a highly progressive and rigorous math course that sets them on an accelerated math track for their remaining school career.  The 6th grade Pre-Algebra curriculum includes 7th and 8th grade curricula and is intended for the very exceptional mathematician.  

In 5th grade, students must meet a specific benchmark on district common math assessments or be recommended by their teacher or parent.  In early spring, these students are given a well-above grade level achievement test to determine readiness.  Careful review of all testing data informs a Pre-Algebra placement decision.

7th-8th Grades ROCK Program

Qualifying students participate in accelerated courses (ROCK) in ELA, Science and/or Social Studies. ROCK courses are designed with rigor and increased pacing, exploring curriculum with depth and complexity.  Successful ROCK students possess a greater depth of knowledge and insight and are able to transform new learning.  

In spring of 6th grade, qualifying students must meet specific benchmarks on district NWEA tests and be recommended by their teacher in the specific content area(s).  Careful review of testing data informs a ROCK placement decision.  ROCK students must maintain set benchmarks on NWEA data and be recommended by their teacher in the specific content area in order to move from the 7th to 8th grade ROCK Program.

Students may not be recommended for screening for any of the above, advanced programs until they are enrolled in Rockford Public Schools (RPS).  For qualification, all students new to RPS must participate in screening/assessment set by RPS or submit comparable test data approved by RPS.

Shannon Ouellette
Director of Advanced Academic Programs
souellette@rockfordschools.org
616-863-6370