Six Rochester Schools Could Exit State Receivership by Next Year

Six Rochester City School District schools could be on their way out of state receivership by the end of the 2026-27 school year, potentially marking a significant turnaround for schools that have spent years under heightened state oversight.

RCSD currently has seven schools in receivership: Dr. David and Ruth Anderson School No. 16, Henry Hudson School No. 28, Dr. Iris J. Banister School No. 33, East Lower School, Edison Career and Technology High School, James Monroe High School and Virgil I. Grissom School No. 7.

According to district officials, six of those schools could become eligible to leave receivership by the end of the current school year if they continue to demonstrate the progress required by the New York State Education Department. School No. 7, the district's newest receivership school, would remain under the designation.

That means Rochester could go from seven receivership schools today to just one by this time next year, although district officials caution that the outcome is not guaranteed.

Receivership is one of New York's most intensive interventions for schools identified as chronically low-performing. Under state law, schools placed in receivership are required to make significant improvements in student achievement and other performance measures. The designation also brings additional state monitoring, improvement planning and access to certain resources.

For Rochester, the possibility of six schools leaving the program is particularly noteworthy because some have carried the designation for years. Four of the district's current receivership schools were designated in 2019, while two have been under receivership for roughly a decade. School No. 7 was added more recently.

Dan Hurley, executive director of RCSD's Office of School Innovation, told the Board of Education that the district's focus is not simply getting schools off the state's list, but making sure improvements can be maintained.

“Our goal really is sustained, continuous improvement that's going to enable each school to exit receivership successfully,” Hurley said.

The district and state will continue monitoring the schools throughout the year, with RCSD able to adjust strategies, provide additional professional development and direct Central Office resources toward schools when necessary.

Superintendent Eric Rosser has also said the State Education Department has indicated it will provide support to the district as schools work toward meeting their improvement goals, including on-site and virtual assistance.

Despite the progress, challenges remain.

Quarterly reports submitted to the state show that several receivership schools have identified equitable access to grade-level instruction for students with disabilities and multilingual learners as an area requiring continued attention.

The state evaluates school performance using multiple measures. Those include academic achievement and student growth, progress among English-language learners, chronic absenteeism and, at the high school level, graduation rates and preparation for college, careers and civic life.

The potential improvement comes as RCSD continues broader efforts to stabilize academic performance following years in which a significant number of city schools have faced state intervention.

East provides one example of how dramatically outcomes can change over time. The East campus once faced possible closure because of poor performance before the University of Rochester began managing the school. According to the university, East Upper's graduation rate subsequently increased from 33% to 85%, while attendance rose to 90%. East Lower, however, remains in receivership.

RCSD is now holding annual public hearings for each of its receivership schools, as required under state law. Hearings continue through September, giving parents and community members opportunities to review progress and provide feedback.

Whether six schools actually leave receivership will ultimately depend on their performance during the current academic year and the state's assessment of that progress.

Still, reducing the district's receivership list from seven schools to potentially one would represent an important milestone for RCSD — and shift the larger question from whether individual schools can improve to whether those improvements can be sustained after heightened state oversight ends.