May 28, 2025 Update
Good afternoon,
The month of May is a busy time in our district. Field days and field trips fill our school days, and on three evenings in May/June, we have graduation celebrations. This year our graduation celebrations take place:
- May 19 – Rockford High School
- May 29 – River Valley Academy
- June 4 – Adult Education
Each of these graduation events help us remember the promise and the power of our schools. To unite a community. To prepare our children.
Reading Rocks is this Saturday, May 31, in downtown Rockford. It begins at 9:45 AM and the activities continue through 1:00 PM.
As we look ahead to the end of the school year and the beginning of summer, remember that learning doesn’t end! I would encourage you to develop a plan to keep your children engaged in learning over the summer months. Here are some opportunities to take advantage of:
- Our Rockford Book Bus will be visiting neighborhoods. You can check our district website for more information.
- Youth enrichment and summer camps are offered through our Community Services office. Check the “Youth Enrichment” link on the Community Services tab on our website.
- The Krause Memorial Library of the Kent District Library (KDL) has a wide variety of activities and lots of books.
- The KDL Summer Wonder runs June 2 – August 8.
- Our Media Specialists have created a summer reading guide. You can access it here:
This spring was a busy one for our students!
- Odyssey of the Mind students participated in the World Finals.
- Our athletic teams at the middle schools and high school have been very successful.
- Our bands, choirs, and orchestras wrapped up the year with spring concerts.
- Our Rockford High School National Honor Society inducted new members.
Remember, as if you needed reminding, that school ends June 6. June 5 and June 6 are half days.
Steve
Dr. Steve Matthews
Superintendent
Rockford Public Schools
Parkside Discussion:
Questions about Teacher Collaboration
This document is intended to answer questions that have arisen as we have begun a conversation about repurposing Parkside Elementary to an Early Childhood Center.
The importance of teacher collaboration:
When schools have only one teacher per grade level, students miss out on the advantages of a collaborative teaching team working together daily. This includes teamwork, shared expertise, and differentiated instruction. Having at least two grade level sections in each building where teachers are collaborating together ensures that every child receives a high-quality, well-rounded environment that supports their learning.
1. Stronger Teaching Through Collaboration and Consistency in Learning
- When teachers work together in a building, they easily share ideas, lesson plans, and strategies that help improve instruction for all students.
- Research shows that when teachers collaborate, student achievement improves significantly (Visible Learning, Hattie, 2009).
- With multiple teachers at the same grade level, all students at a grade level in the building receive a similar, high-quality education.
- Schools that follow the Professional Learning Community (PLC) model (DuFour, 2004) see higher student success rates because teachers meet regularly to discuss student progress and adjust instruction based on data.
- Research (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011) shows that when teachers work in teams, they are less stressed, more motivated, and stay in the profession longer.
2. Better Support for Different Learning Needs
- Every child learns differently, and when multiple teachers work together, they can group students flexibly to give them more personalized instruction.
- Struggling students get extra help, and advanced learners receive challenges that keep them engaged.
- Studies on differentiated instruction (Tomlinson, 2001) show that when teaching is tailored to a student’s level, learning improves dramatically.
- When teachers work as a grade level team, they can identify areas where students are struggling and quickly provide support to keep them on track.
- Common assessments across classrooms help ensure that every child is making progress and getting the support they need.
- In multi-section grades, students may have opportunities to interact with different teachers, which helps them adapt to different teaching styles and personalities.
- Flexible grouping across classrooms allows students to work with peers at similar academic levels, keeping them challenged and engaged.
