Rochester Real Estate

The Rochester schools are highly regarded. Rochester High School students test above the Illinois state averages in all categories on the ACT. The average composite score on the ACT for Rochester is 22.2, which exceeds the state average of 20.1. In Illinois, the ACT is required as part of the state's standardized testing program. This information is provided in the school's Illinois School Report Card, which all schools in Illinois are required to release to the public each year.

Construction on a new wing to the high school began in July 2005, and was finished in August of 2006. Demolition of the old Rochester Junior High building also took place in the summer of 2006, and junior high students will occupy most of the new wing until the new junior high facility is fully completed. A new auditorium is also being constructed for the district, and it is scheduled to be completed in early 2007.

Rochester is the southeastern end of the Lost Bridge Trail a 5.0-mile (8.0 km) trail built by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) atop an abandoned rail bed formerly used by the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) railroad. It is operated jointly by IDNR and the Village of Rochester. The trail crosses the South Fork of the Sangamon River near Rochester, and crosses Sugar Creek near Springfield. Sugar Creek carries the outflow from Lake Springfield, a sizable nearby reservoir. The Lost Bridge trail name recalls IDOT's failure to prevent salvagers affiliated with the B&O from dismantling the Sugar Creek bridge for scrap.