RSUD�Survey Review and Dialog �

September 1, 2026

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Rochester-Stockbridge Unified District School Configuration Survey �July 27^th–August 7^th

A survey was developed based on community feedback by the RSUD School Board to gather more information on the following topics.

1. Suggestions on ways to increase academic/social-emotional supports.

2. Best ways to communicate with all stakeholders.

3. District reconfiguration options.

4. Criteria for evaluating the reconfiguration options.

5. Additional comments or suggestions.

Survey Data Breakdown

Total Participants: 107

NESDEC consultants reviewed each question independently, collected all responses, generated a summary, takeaways, and themes to be shared with School Board Members.

The School Board was provided with the total survey as well as the question-by-question breakdown data to review.

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Survey Demographics �Total: 107 Respondents

Question 1: What suggestions do you have regarding how we can improve both academic and social/emotional supports?

Takeaways

• Responses call for high-quality teaching, sufficient staffing, consistent student-support systems, transparent communication, and careful stewardship of district resources.
• Respondents also want thoughtful decisions about school structure and resource allocation.
• Some noted they lacked current information to offer detailed recommendations, reinforcing the need for ongoing, accessible communication.

Question 1: Recurring Priorities

1. Student Behavior and Accountability

2. Counseling and Social-Emotional Support

3. Academic Quality and Transparency

4. Staffing and Professional Capacity

5. Multigrade Classroom Support

6. Individualized and Expanded Learning

7. Family and Community Engagement

8. Purposeful Use of Technology

9. School Structure, Funding, and Resource Use

10. Additional Services and Opportunities

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Question 1: Common Theme Takeaways

Takeaways

• Families want rigorous, transparent, and responsive learning experiences for every student.
• Respondents are looking for a safe, orderly, and supportive learning environment they believe is essential to student success.
• The importance of a stable, well-supported workforce is central to delivering consistent, high-quality instruction.
• Stakeholders value transparency, timely information, and authentic collaboration.
• Respondents support meaningful enrichment while recognizing that structural choices require careful, inclusive discussion.

Question 1: Five Common Themes

1. Academic Quality and Individualized Learning

2. Student Behavior and Social-Emotional Support

3. Educator Staffing, Preparation, and Retention

4. Family Communication and Community Engagement

5. Program Design, Enrichment, and District Structure

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Question 2: What communication and outreach strategies would best keep families, staff, and community members informed and engaged as plans develop? �

Question 2: Communication Preferences

Takeaways

• Respondents favor a coordinated, inclusive strategy that pairs reliable digital tools with traditional and in-person outreach.
• Adopt one authoritative digital hub with automatic email notifications and accessible offline options, plus regular opportunities for public dialogue.

Themes

• Use multiple channels.
• Ensure equitable access.
• Centralize digital communication.
• Increase transparency.
• Create two-way engagement.
• Use social media cautiously.
• Balance digital efficiency with choice.

Question 3: Rochester-Stockbridge Unified District Configuration Options�

Question 3: Themes from “Other Configuration Options” Responses�

Takeaways

• Overall, the data gathered was inconclusive.
• Comments call for evaluating a one-campus model alongside the listed options, with any recommendation addressing transportation, grade configuration, school choice, building capacity, staffing, costs, and community impact.

Themes

• One-campus consolidation.
• Grade 6 school choice.
• Split-campus alternatives.
• Efficiency and staffing.
• Student experience with larger class sizes.
• Transportation and community concerns.
• Full choice or district dissolution.

Question 4: In addition to ensuring RSUD continues to provide quality, sustainable community schools, what other criteria should the RSUD board consider when evaluating the viability of each configuration option?�

Takeaways

• Respondents want each configuration judged through a student-centered lens that balances educational quality, school choice, affordability, transportation, staffing, equity, and long-term community viability.
• No single configuration emerged as a consensus choice. The Board should use transparent, campus-specific evidence to identify the option that best serves students while preserving choice, controlling costs, supporting staff and families, and sustaining the community.

Themes

• Preserve school choice.
• Put student outcomes first.
• Keep younger students close to home.
• Assess transportation and family impact.
• Model the full financial impact.
• Protect staffing quality and capacity.
• Examine enrollment and class structure.
• Ensure equity, safety, and student support.
• Consider community-wide consequences.
• Communicate clearly and transparently.

Question 4: Suggested Board Evaluation Criteria�

Evaluation Lenses

• Student learning, wellbeing, safety, and academic opportunity
• Protection of current and future school-choice options
• Enrollment by grade, class-size viability, and instructional model
• Transportation time, reliability, and family accessibility
• Staffing quality, workload, recruitment, retention, and supervision
• Equity of special education, mental health, and behavioral supports
• Short- and long-term costs, taxes, maintenance, and sustainability
• Act 170, CESA, legal, compliance, and operational implications
• Effects on parent involvement, town vitality, and community identity
• Transparency of data, assumptions, decision process, and implementation time.

Question 5: Please provide any other comments or suggestions you have.�

Takeaways

• Respondents centered on student opportunity, stability, and long-term school viability, and most asked for earlier, clearer, more frequent communication. Views on configuration varied widely—from keeping both schools open to consolidation or grade-based reorganization—signaling the need for transparent criteria, comparable data, and visible follow-through.

Themes

• Communication and transparency.
• School configuration and viability.
• Educational quality and equity.
• Distinctive programming and enrollment.
• Family and community partnership.
• Governance and accountability.