The Rochelle Elementary School District Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved a transition back to a traditional grading model at Rochelle Middle School.
Last month, the board heard a presentation from RMS Principal Katie Smith regarding the potential future change from its current standards-based grading model.
Last spring, RMS teachers raised concerns about the effectiveness of standards-based grading and a climate and culture survey was sent out to teachers and it was evaluated that a change was a priority in the building, Smith said in January. A principal advisory committee agreed with the need for change.
“Some of the needs highlighted were strengthening students’ academic behaviors and a desire to prepare students as they transition to RTHS,” Smith said. “Staff also recognized that they had put in a significant effort in the past five years on standards-based grading and practices. However, over time they’re noticing it’s not as effective as they had hoped.”
Smith said in January that at parent-teacher conferences, families “frequently” express confusion and ask questions about standards-based grading at RMS. RMS is the only middle school in a 30-mile radius that uses standards-based grading. Most school districts use standards-based grading in kindergarten through fifth grade and transition to traditional A-F grading in middle school to prepare for high school.
The RMS principal advisory committee wants to develop a grading policy that incorporates traditional A-F reporting while also holding on to standards-based grading practices, such as detailed feedback, using performance descriptors and rubrics, and opportunities for redos and retakes. The change would begin at the start of the 2026-2027 school year at RMS.
Sports
The board unanimously approved the initiation of a sixth grade athletics pilot program at RMS. Sixth graders at the school do not currently compete in all sports that the school offers like seventh and eighth graders do.
Sixth graders currently participate in wrestling, cross country, track and scholastic bowl at RMS. The expansion will see sixth graders now participate in boys and girls basketball, girls volleyball, cheerleading, dance and soccer. The sports offerings would also aid in afterschool offerings for students impacted by the potential end of the district’s HUB program, which is currently without its longtime grant funding, Superintendent Jason Harper said.
“Our administration has focused this in Year 1 to keep this as close to a low-to-no-cost implementation as possible,” Harper said. “The coaches would be volunteers in the first year. We would do our best to use current uniforms, equipment and gym space and allocations we already have. We would be strategic with scheduling and travel.”
Harper said sixth grade athletic teams will travel with eighth and seventh grade teams on buses when possible and parent transport would be utilized through a waiver process in other situations to keep costs low. Sixth graders would pay the same athletic fees that older students pay, and those funds would be used to offset home event costs of referees and scorekeepers for sporting events.
The district will review the pilot program by April 2027.
“We feel this is a controlled and measured way to roll out this expansion,” Harper said.
Personnel
The board unanimously approved personnel matters during the meeting, including the certified transfer of Stacey Horstmeier (third grade monolingual teacher to third grade dual language teacher, 2026-27 school year) and the employment of Mya Erdahl (fourth grade teacher, 2026-27 school year), Kirsten Hedrick (fourth grade teacher, 2026-27 school year), Marlen Hueramo (art teacher, 2026-27 school year) and Tiffany Williams (special education teacher, 2026-27 school year).
Also approved was the support staff retirement of Cathy Long (paraprofessional, end of 2025-26 school year), the resignation of Alejandro Nazario (paraprofessional, effective Feb. 6) and the employment of Kellie Erickson (paraprofessional) and Kimberly Garcia (lunch supervisor). John Dobbs was approved as extracurricular art supervisor for the current school year.