Today:

     Rochelle District #231 serves 1500 students in grades preschool through 8th grade.  Students are housed in 4 school buildings that serve as attendance centers.  Lincoln school serves Preschool, Kindergarten and 1st graders.  Central school serves 2nd and 3rd graders.  Tilton houses the 4th and 5th grades and Rochelle Middle School the 6th, 7th and 8th grades.

     The school district is led by a 7 person Board of Education and  Superintendent Jason Harper who also serves Rochelle High School District #212.

     The district has an 18:1 teacher to student ratio and boasts a dual language program that serves over 250 students in grades Preschool through 5th grade.  (a new grade is added each year)  Standards based grading is also used in Kindergarten through 7th grades ( a new grade is added each year).  For more information on our district check out our this link to our SCHOOL REPORT CARD.

History:

     In 1840 the first school named Hickory Grove was opened in a log cabin on what is today South Main Street. Located on the East side of the street just North of Kyte Creek education became a community endeavor.  In 1858 the number of students had increased to the point where the citizens demanded a true school. Ten thousand dollars of bonds were sold and the first Central School was constructed. A two-story wooden structure was erected. The school housed all grades from 1st through high school. With a student population of less than three hundred students Central School was more than sufficient. In 1869 Central school was struck by fire. “Our heretofore unconquerable Fire Department, consisting of one worthless engine, and two worthless squirt guns, was entirely inadequate to the occasion.” Yes, the school burned to the ground. For the next two years high school classes were held at the corner of Lincoln Highway and Cherry Avenue on the second floor of the Shockley Building. Rochelle once again sold bonds to construct a new school. Forty thousand dollars and two years later (1871) a new Central School stood on the corner of 5th Avenue and 8th Street. 

     In the 1900's 4 more schools are added to the district to meet the demands of population growth.  In 1909 a school is opened on the south side of town on the corner of 1st street and Main.  It is renamed Lincoln school in 1915 and undergoes construction additions in 1954 (main entrance and a north wing are added), 1969 (1st southside addition), and 1989 (2nd southside addition).  A referendum is passed in 2011 to build a new Lincoln school (20th & Flagg Rd) which opens in August of 2013.

     A "new" Central school was built in 1938 with an addition in 1949.  This building is still in use today.

Floyd Tilton donates land to the city for a 3rd school located at 9th street and 10th avenue in 1947.  It's doors open to students in 1950.

Philip May donates land on the east side of town on the corner of school avenue and 2nd street.  A school is built on the site and begins operation in August of 19xx.  The school closes its doors to students in 2021 when the district transitions to attendance centers.

     In 1965 Rochelle Junior High (111 School Avenue) opens its doors to serve the districts 7th and 8th grade students.  It is converted into a middle school (6th,7th,8th grades) with a building addition in 2001.

     In August of 2021 the district has moved from neighborhood schools to an attendance center model to better serve the students in the community.  Lincoln school houses the PreK-1st grades, Central school the 2nd and 3rd grades, Tilton the 4th and 5th grades and Rochelle Middle School serves the 6th,7th and 8th grades.