District expands community‑school rollout, plans one parent center and braids funding

Chief Wilson told the board April 30 that the Rochester City School District will continue its multi‑year effort to convert more buildings to the community‑school model, emphasizing a phased approach, fidelity to the six pillars of the model and braided funding that combines philanthropy, state and local dollars and partner contributions.

Wilson said the district received roughly $988,000 in philanthropic support to accelerate work at four of seven new community‑school sites and described implementation cohorts through 2028, with leadership noting the timeline may be extended to ensure fidelity. "Each community school will have a community liaison specialist central to the model," she told commissioners, describing the liaison’s role in coordinating partners, connecting families to services and tracking whether supports reach students.

The district also proposed opening one parent center (Loretta Johnson/Old Swan site) in the coming year rather than two, citing budget constraints. The parent center is planned to provide private family meetings, workshops, a food pantry, multilingual support and an expanded Parent Engagement Network for building‑level programming. Administration said the pilot will collect parent feedback and usage data to shape hours, programming and possible future satellite services such as enrollment assistance.

Board members asked how community schools differ from neighborhood schools and urged that new designations come with the funding and staffing necessary to operate at high fidelity. Commissioners also asked about bilingual/multilingual liaison positions; Wilson said bilingual specialists would be posted and principals would have increased autonomy to use building budgets for liaison staff. On sustainability, Wilson said startup grant funds are intended for acceleration and that the district will assume greater responsibility as philanthropic or grant funding phases down.

A handful of commissioners cautioned against over‑prioritizing community schools at the expense of core academic interventions; administrators said academic alignment would be part of the work and that an MTSS (multi‑tiered system of supports) presentation is scheduled for the next board deliberation on May 5. No formal action was taken.