Rochester Alternative Learning Center

Looking for a quick and nutritious summer meal? Visit one of our summer meal locations for breakfast or lunch! Meals are FREE for children 18 or younger and a small fee for adults. Check out our menus, locations, and meal times online: https://www.rochesterschools.org/page/summer-meals Please note that meals must be consumed on location and that all summer meal locations will be closed for Juneteenth and reopen on June 20 at locations that operate Monday through Friday.

Graduating students had an opportunity to work with a professional photographer, Sejal, who volunteered her time to take photos of our students preparing for graduation in 2025-2026. Thank you Sejal for all the work you put into these pictures and helping our students celebrate their graduation this coming school year. Graduating students- if you missed out on this round, keep updates on our Graduating Senior Google Classroom posts as we will have another round in the fall.

What a fun filled week welcoming incoming 9th grade students to RALC. Our Bridge staff, Mrs. Rojas and Mrs. Pencille, led our students through activities of team building challenges, cooking, ROCA rock climbing as well as many educational classroom activities. They also brought in community partners from University of Minnesota Extension office to lead nail art, dissecting owl pellets, and making catapults/slingshots, thank you Megan and Paige, as well as Carla from WorkForce Development Inc. to lead an activity on learning skills to prepare for success in high school. Another shout out to Hollandberry Pannekoeken for providing muffins for breakfast on Friday since our student nutrition services work Monday-Thursday during the summer. This was a huge hit and greatly appreciated.

Students taking summer school Drivers Education class at the RALC were able to connect with Officer Condon (School Resource Officer) to learn more about driving laws, distracted driving, and get time to ask questions. Thank you Officer Condon for you insight and time with our emerging drivers.

In need of FREE eye exam, Free optical car or FREE glasses? Check out this eye care clinic on Saturday June 21st 1-4 at Christ United Methodist Church

"By challenge, I mean doing things that aren’t easy. Challenge means being pushed, stretched, and sometimes uncomfortable. By support, I mean having people around you who help you complete tasks and achieve goals. Support means feeling like you matter, that you're not alone, and that someone believes in you." Watch Superintendent Pekel's speech to the graduating classes of 2025 at last week's ceremonies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDb5DvfTktg&t=1s

Walk-in vaccines are available this summer with Public Health! Dates: August 14, 19, 20, 25, and 26. Location : 2100 Campus Drive SE. Appointments can be made at any time throughout the summer by calling public health at 507-328-7500

What an incredible 2024-2025 school year! As we close the books on another year, we want to thank our amazing students, staff, and families for making it so special. Your hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm made this year truly memorable. We've loved every moment of learning, growing, and achieving together. While we're sad to see it end, we're already looking forward to continuing the adventure with all of you next school year!

We forgot to mention a big accomplishment from this school year: the passing of the 2024 Ignite Student Learning Referendum! Watch this brief video from Superintendent Pekel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQK9P5NxpZU

This semester, we partnered with Crossfit Credence and Forging Youth Resilience (FYR) to bring fitness and mentorship to our students each week. Each summer, the most dedicated teens from local clubs attend a weeklong summer FYR leadership camp in Boulder, Colorado - all expenses paid! We are SO excited for Tristin and Yusuf for being selected for this opportunity! They'll experience workouts, workshops, and team-building exercises, and work on grit, self-talk, goal setting, and nutrition.

We are continually blown away by our community's kindness! @WeBikeRochester donated 15 refurbished bikes for our students/families! @PataDePerro helps teach youth and adults how to maintain and repair bikes as lifelong skills.

We are SO grateful for our partnership with The Reading Center. They led intensive small group reading instruction multiple times a week. These students averaged two years of reading growth! Thank you to our instructional coach, Julie Doschadis, for leading ALC staff in strengthening our reading/writing foundation for all of our students this year.

Let's take a moment to congratulate these scholarship recipients! Addison Cassidy and Kai’Rena Harper-Hairiston were awarded a $500 scholarship to further their education from the American Business Women’s Association. Addison will be attending Winona State University to become come a social worker and Kai’Rena will be attending MN State College Southeast in Winona working toward her cosmetology degree. This spring, Mia was selected to be part of the DREAM internship program at Mayo Clinic! She's pictured below with her cohort. 11 students graduated from the STRIVE program - 7 students with perfect attendance awards! This program connects students with community mentors to support and guide them through their senior year. Students connect with another adult to learn different perspectives, learn valuable adulting skills, connect as a group, and have opportunities to receive scholarships to support their furthering education goals.

As the 2024–2025 school year comes to a close, I want to take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights from the past ten months. This list doesn’t capture everything great that happened in our schools, but I hope it gives you a sense of the extraordinary work we’ve done together. Everyone connected to Rochester Public Schools (RPS) should feel proud of what we’ve accomplished—and even more excited about what lies ahead. Read Superintendent Pekel's End Of Year Review: https://bit.ly/end-of-year-review-2025

ALC Staff Celebration 2025! Thank you to every member of the ALC team for the part you play in our students' well-being. When our students are asked what they appreciate the most about the ALC, the answer is usually "the teachers." Special shout out to Isabell's family for providing fresh egg rolls and sushi for the occasion! (You can look for their stall at the local Farmer's Market this summer - the food was DELICIOUS!)

We enjoyed celebrating our final mentoring session with Ben Franklin students! Thank you, Flapdoodles, for donating ice cream treats!

Congratulations to the Class of 2025! Our social worker, Jasmine, says it best: "With each name called, there is an unspoken story. All the tattered ribbons come together in the end to make a perfect bow to tie up all their stories into one big happy ending. Yet at the same time, their stories are just beginning, full of excitement, hope, and potential as they enter adulthood!" ALC students - you did it!

Thank you to the University of Minnesota-Extension for making a 9th grade overnight camping trip happen (3 nights!). Students have been learning about nature/conservation all year and had a chance to apply their learning in Chippewa Falls. A big shoutout to Mrs. Pencille and Mrs. Rojas (and Nicole with UMN) for guiding the students.

Get Ready, because free summer meals are back! Starting June 9, summer meals will be offered at Elton Hills, Gage, Franklin, Longfellow, Overland, Riverside, Washington, Willow Creek, and John Marshall High School. Breakfast and lunch served daily. All meals for children 18 years of age or younger are FREE. Adult meals can also be purchased for $3.10 for breakfast and $5.50 for lunch. See the flyer for a full list, dates, and times, or visit www.rochesterschools.org/summermeals for more information. 🍏 June Menu: https://5il.co/3gpjn 🍏 Flyers: https://www.rochesterschools.org/documents/school-meals-and-menus/summer-meals/805175

Congratulations to our Students of the Month from Spring Semester! We were able to individually recognize each student's strengths, and award them with a certificate and a 3D printed medal! We SEE you and we're so proud of your growth.