Districtwide 'Ready, Set, School' expansion to provide classroom supplies; community packing event set for July 30

St. Cloud Area School District 742 on Monday described an expansion of its Ready, Set, School program that will provide classroom-level supplies to every preschool through fifth-grade class at no cost to families.

Superintendent Dr. Lori Putnam and Claire Richards, chief executive officer of the local supply partner Impacts, outlined the program and its sustainability model during the board meeting. Richards said Impacts sources supplies at wholesale prices and worked with the district to pilot the program at Talahi and preschool sites. "When Lori came to us a couple years ago and had this vision for Ready, Set, School, we were all in," Richards said.

The district said the model uses "teacher totes" — classroom bins stocked with essentials such as pencils, notebooks and folders that teachers can draw from during the year — rather than distributing individual student kits. Donations can be routed through LEAF or given directly to the district for tax-exempt purchasing; the district also identified multi-year and evergreen donor commitments that help with sustainability.

Dr. Putnam described the program as an equity effort to remove a common barrier to belonging on the first day of school. "Belonging is so key," she said. "When students come without the essentials, it gets in the way of feeling ready to learn." Claire Richards cited national data and said the national average family spending on school supplies is "just over $140," a figure she used to emphasize the program's potential budget relief for families.

Donors were credited for the pilot’s success. The district thanked Tom and Janet Gronnest and the St. Cloud Rotaract Club for underwriting the initial pilot; board materials list full-sponsor and tiered-sponsorship opportunities and say a full sponsor costs $15,000. Officials said Kennedy Elementary has a fundraising goal of $130,000 as part of the expansion plan but that all eight elementary schools will be covered through the combined donor effort.

The district will host a community packing event on July 30 at Apollo High School. District staff, business partners and volunteers will staff the event; Impacts representatives are expected to attend and support the bulk purchasing and packing operations. Officials said the program complements — and does not replace — the district’s existing Adopt-a-Classroom program, which provides enrichment beyond the basics covered by Ready, Set, School.

The board applauded the initiative and several members described it as a model for cross-sector partnership. The district plans to publish a blueprint of the program and present the model at superintendent and principal conferences to encourage adoption elsewhere.