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Families and school staff urge district to preserve Achievement Plus liaison positions at three schools
Summary
Multiple speakers at the April 29 meeting urged Saint Paul Public Schools to sustain the Achievement Plus partnership with the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation and to retain full-time liaisons at Saint Paul Music Academy, Bruce Vento and Dayton’s Bluff.
At the April 29 special meeting on the FY2026 budget, parents, teachers and volunteers pressed Saint Paul Public Schools to preserve the Achievement Plus partnership with the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation and to retain the partner liaison positions that connect families to services.
Amber Ray Bernhardt, a parent from Saint Paul Music Academy, said the district’s plan to eliminate the Achievement Plus community and partner liaison position at several sites would sever school-based connections to in-school dental care, food, housing, clothing assistance and after-school and summer programming provided through Wilder. ‘‘These aren’t luxuries. They are lifelines,’’ Bernhardt said.
Several speakers described concrete services the liaisons coordinate: weekend meals, in-school dental visits, clothing closets, referrals for housing and utilities assistance and family events that drive attendance and engagement. Katie Steinbach, a school counselor at Bruce Vento, said the liaison attends mental-health and PBIS team meetings, plans monthly family events that increased participation and that the role is a full-time position for a reason. She urged funding of a site coordinator or liaison at each Achievement Plus school either from the district budget or via a full-service community school grant from MDE.
Speakers said the current agreement between SPPS and Wilder provided roughly $229,000 for the 2024–25 school year; parents estimated the partnership serves more than 1,200 families systemwide per the program report. Multiple speakers said communication to families and staff about the change has been inconsistent and, in some cases, limited, and they urged the board to host school-level meetings at affected sites so families, staff and partners can help plan a transition if necessary.
Several educators and parents asked the district to maintain the full-service community school model and to avoid replacing a funded full-time liaison with ad hoc staff responsibilities. Ashley Jensen, a second-grade teacher at Bruce Vento, said existing staff do not have capacity to absorb liaison duties without reducing proactive student supports.
District leaders acknowledged the concerns and said they will review public comments at the Committee of the Board on May 6. Achievement Plus is scheduled to end June 30 under the current rollout; no final district decision on replacement funding was recorded at the April 29 meeting.
