Finance
Rockwood's financial management has been recognized with a Standard & Poor's rating of AAA, making Rockwood one of only four school districts in the state to hold such a high, outstanding rating.
Rockwood has received the Meritorious Budget Award for excellence in annual budget presentation for 21 straight years. The Finance Department also earned the Certificate for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials International.
Facilities
Rockwood is the largest school district in St. Louis County and the second largest in the state of Missouri. The district encompasses more than 150 square miles in parts of St. Louis and Jefferson counties. Rockwood schools, buildings and fields cover 700 acres of land, and district facilities include nearly 3.8 million square feet of building space.
Transportation
Rockwood has owned and operated its own fleet of school buses since 2016. The focus is on providing high-quality transportation services for students as well as being good stewards of tax dollars. The cost of managing Rockwood's own bus fleet versus contracting out those services saves district taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Rockwood transports more than 13,000 students every school day and has earned the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s “Fleet Excellence Award” for outstanding school bus maintenance and safety four years in a row.
Technology
Rockwood works to provide technology systems and services that support our mission of ensuring all students realize their potential. Classroom technologies include interactive whiteboards or panels (SMART Boards™ and Promethean panels), amplification systems in all elementary classrooms and wireless access. Classrooms with unique technology needs, e.g. Project Lead the Way, are fully equipped to meet those needs.
Rockwood has implemented a 1-to-1 student/technology program that allows students to take their district-issued device -- Chromebooks for grades 2-12, iPads for kindergarten and first grade -- home at the end of the school day. There, they can continue their learning through online collaboration and be ready to bring the device back the next day.
Rockwood also invests in up-to-date systems to support student achievement and strengthen the home-school connection. These systems include a robust Assessment System; a web-based Student Information System that includes a parent and student portal for access to grades, attendance and more; and a Child Nutrition System that enables parents to see student meal choices and make online payments.
Child Nutrition Services
The Rockwood School District participates in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. This allows families the opportunity to apply for free and reduced-price meal benefits.
The district also works to provide students with healthy, nutrient-rich food offerings. During the 2018-2019 school year, Child Nutrition served nearly 289,000 healthy breakfasts and more than 1.4 million nutritious lunches to Rockwood students. During the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, Child Nutrition also provided curbside service and Grab-and-Go packaged meals for online learners. Learn more about menu offerings in Rockwood.
Early Childhood Services
More than 1,000 Rockwood families are enrolled in Parents as Teachers (PAT), a nationally recognized program for children from birth to 5 years old. All Rockwood families and expectant parents are able to access these services. The PAT developmental screening team conducts nearly 2,000 developmental screenings per year for children in the early years. Nearly 1,000 children annually are enrolled in the Rockwood Early Childhood Program, located at three centers and in schools within the district community.
(Updated Dec. 2020)
