Robbinsdale Area Schools

Rdale Roundup (Story 5): Planning the future of Robbinsdale Area Schools

Rdale Roundup (Story 5): Planning the future of Robbinsdale Area Schools
The potential outlook of facilities moving forward

As we work to stabilize the district, the Board is also looking ahead through Reimagine Rdale, a long-term planning effort focused on efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability

No final decisions have been made, but the ideas we are exploring include:

  • A single 9-12 high school model
  • Maintaining strong neighborhood elementary schools
  • Expanding arts and innovation opportunities for all students
  • Continuing Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion School as a K-5 program
  • Changing how we use some buildings to better match enrollment and program needs and sing our facilities more efficiently 

One concept we’ve discussed includes:

  • Renovating and expanding the Cooper High School and New Hope Learning Center site into a single high school campus
  • Using the Armstrong High School site for middle school programming, district services, and Robbinsdale Academy-Highview
  • Renovating Plymouth Middle School as the future home of Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion School and the Robbinsdale Transition Center
  • Updating Sandburg Middle School
  • Relocating programs such as Adult Academic Programs, Community Education, and Early Learning into renovated spaces 
  • Transitioning to six neighborhood elementary schools schools

A key part of this work is recognizing that we currently have more buildings than we can efficiently operate. When we spread students and programs across too many underused facilities, it drives up costs that take away from teaching and learning. By bringing programs together in fewer locations and, in some cases, expanding or modernizing our buildings to serve more students, we can run a more efficient system that puts more resources directly into classrooms.

This is also why long-term facility investment, including a building bond, is connected to financial stability. It allows us to modernize our buildings to reduce ongoing operating costs and redirect resources toward what matters most—teaching, learning, and student support.

This work is still in progress, and we will continue to refine ideas through School Board discussion, financial review, and community engagement.

Rdale Roundup is a semi-annual publication that is delivered to all residents across our district to keep the community informed about our schools, students and our shared investment in public education. The Reimagine Rdale: Vision 2030 stories that appeared in the June 2026 issue includes: 

The potential outlook of facilities moving forward