Parents and caregivers of our future kindergarteners,
Despite it being February, winter seems a bit unpredictable this year. We are certain, however, that the first day of school for your soon-to-be kindergartener in August will creep up on us faster than we think! Not to worry; there is still time to make sure your student’s immunizations are up to date and to get in for their Early Childhood Screening. If you have not done so already, screening appointments can be made by calling 507-328-4004 or scheduling online.
Kindergarten Open Houses
If you haven’t done so already, please check out the incoming kindergarten page on our website to see when your neighborhood school or a Districtwide Option school is having their kindergarten open house. If you missed a school’s open house, please reach out to the school to talk to a principal and schedule a tour. We look forward to seeing you! We are also planning a larger kindergarten fair in May where we will host all the schools and community organizations. Stay tuned for more information on this.
Kindergarten Booklets
You should have received the 2024-2025 Kindergarten booklet in the mail! This booklet contains all of the details you need to know about the upcoming school year! If you haven’t received a booklet in the mail, please email communications@rochesterschools.org to let us know.
Parent Teacher Association
If you’re already thinking of how you can be involved in your child’s new school, you should consider joining your school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) or Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA).
Each Rochester school has a PTA or PTSA (except Gage Elementary, which has a PTO, a different kind of parent organization). Connect with the PTA/PTSA at your school to join other families, teachers, and students in projects, events, engagement, and advocacy that support you and your school community.
Rochester Area Council PTSA: For more than 20 years, the Rochester Area Council of Parent-Student-Teacher Associations (Rochester Area Council) has been bringing members of local PTA and PTSA units together to share and learn from one another, provide leadership and other training, and collaborate advocacy efforts. Our monthly meetings are a great way to connect with the work of PTA/PTSAs across Rochester. More questions about PTA/PTSA’s? You can connect with them at racptsa@gmail.com or Facebook @racptsa.
Self-Transport Application
A parent/caregiver may apply for a Self-Transport request, (formerly Exception to Attendance and Districtwide Application) for a student(s) to attend another school other than their neighborhood school attendance area. This allows families to have the flexibility to choose what programming best suits their child(s) needs. This is the application you use if you're applying for a Districtwide Option school/program.
The deadline to be included in the 24-25 Districtwide Option School/Program Kindergarten drawing is midnight on February 25, 2024. The first drawing will be the week of February 26, 2024. Families will be notified via the provided email. Please be sure to watch for notifications during this week.
Enroll Today
A reminder that If you haven’t done so already, enroll your future kindergartener at Rochester Public Schools!
We look forward to meeting our newest students this fall!