RALC families, due to an unexpected water main break resulting in a complete loss of water service to the building, the Rochester Alternative Learning Center will dismiss students early at 12:30 p.m. today, Friday, November 21. Please check your emails for more information.
Students in our Nature Rx/Public Health partnership learned about winter survival techniques! Here, students collected materials and used flint and steel to start a fire.
Pasqualle's and Hyvee teamed up to donate $1200 worth of food to Rochester Public Schools' five community schools! Thank you for supporting ALC students and families!
For our November Monthly Wellness lunch/dinner event, the Rochester Public Library joined us. We loved the high student engagement and interest in the book giveaways and library card sign-ups! Grateful for this partnership.
Our ninth grade students had a mini-celebration! These students are On Track with their attendance, grades, and community participation. (This is part of a bigger district Freshman On Track initiative. Research shows that these factors are among the most impactful indicators of students' success and likelihood of graduating on time.) Keep up the great work, students!
Ms. Staley's students learned all about the art and science of soap-making!
ALC students take on the role of preschool teacher aides each week at Northrop! We're grateful for this partnership with Early Childhood Education. One of our student volunteers enjoyed the experience so much that she went on to apply for a SACC position and was accepted! #plantingseeds
If families are needing help with holiday gifts for children ages 0-16, Salvation Army's Toy & Joy applications are now open. See the flyer for details.
Honoring all who served. Thank you, Veterans.
Honoring all who served. Thank you, Veterans.
A HUGE thank you to local community groups and individuals who collected food donations for the ALC pantry these past couple of weeks. This emergency resource helps students bring food home right from school. Special thank you to the Rochester Ensemble of Dance, Workforce Development, Mayo Clinic's Practice Operations, and the Winona State University Nursing Club for running drives for us with a quick turnaround.
The ALC is hosting a family watercolor painting night on Friday, November 21, 6-8pm! Let us know if you can join (for ALC students and their parents/caregivers): https://tinyurl.com/artralc
Thank you, everyone, who voted in our annual pumpkin painting contest! The results are in! Also, a special shoutout to Sekapp Orchard for donating pumpkins to help make our event happen.
Check our students' art in this Digital Art Show! Everyone has access to view and leave comments/feedback for the students. Enjoy! https://tinyurl.com/alcartshow
Happy Halloween from the ALC! Staff and students showed off their creativity today with fun costumes!
Congratulations to ALC Science Teacher, Maren Goss! Altra Federal Credit Union recently ran a contest for members to nominate their favorite teacher. Maren was chosen as a winner and was surprised with a $250 check for her classroom! The ALC is lucky to have Mrs. Goss for her creative labs, innovative instruction, and for the strong relationships she builds with students.
The Rochester ALC Food Pantry is need of help, if you're able. It's been utilized more this year than in the past, and it's been hard to keep up with the need. Local churches and organizations have been wonderful, but our next large donation isn't until early December. To help bridge the gap, we're looking for microwaveable meals, pasta sauce, pasta, cereals, canned food items, and healthy snacks. Any donations can be dropped off at the ALC during school days, 8:30am-4:30pm. Every donation, big or small, makes a difference for our students and families. Please help share this post to help spread the word!
ALC students explored careers in the medical field at a recent Health Career Festival. We believe opportunities like these help to open up future possibilities for our students.
Thank you United Way and KAAL-TV for hosting a one-day resource room drive for RPS community schools! They collected shampoo/conditioner, body wash, hand soap, hair brushes, toilet paper, lotion, and so much more! Access to basic hygiene supplies impacts school attendance. Thank you for supporting our students!
We are SO thankful to Mariah, owner of Debonair Hair Co., for providing a Free Haircut Day at the ALC! She's not only a former ALC student, but she was recognized by Post-Bulletin for the 2025 Best of the Best Hair Salon in Rochester! She helped around 15 students, and they were all smiling from ear-to-ear following their cut.
