Saint Paul Schools Board Approves Seven-Year Strategic Plan Unanimously
The Saint Paul Public Schools Board of Education unanimously approved the SPPS 2033 Strategic Plan on August 18, a comprehensive roadmap developed with input from over 3,000 community members that will guide the district's priorities through 2033.
Superintendent Stanley and district leaders presented the new strategic plan, which emerged from extensive community engagement and the superintendent's initial 100-day report. The plan centers on three priority areas: Excellence in Instruction, Deliberate Inclusion, and Sustainable Infrastructure. It includes 26 benchmarks and a monitoring system with public dashboards to track progress. Board members unanimously approved the plan, with Chair Ward calling it "really exciting" and expressing gratitude to everyone involved in its development.
The plan will be implemented over one to two school years using existing resources rather than requiring new funding. Board members emphasized the importance of the document in transparently communicating district decisions to the community. Director Franco noted that having a guiding strategic plan is essential for the district's work and helps explain decisions to families and residents.
In other business, the board received an update on graduation rates, which increased to 78% for the class of 2025, moving closer to the district's 80% goal for 2029. While many student groups saw gains—including American Indian students, who improved by 14 percentage points—state-identified Hispanic students experienced a 7% decline. The board discussed the need for targeted approaches to support African American students and address the decline among Hispanic students, acknowledging external factors like immigration policies.
During public comment, two community members, Sarah Barker and Sue Illig, advocated for the "Make It Fair Minnesota amendment" to state high school sports bylaws. They requested the board instruct high school representatives to support restoring biology-based eligibility for girls' sports, citing fairness, safety, and Title IX protections.
The board also received a comprehensive report on preparations for the 2026-2027 school year, including staff professional development, expansion of academic programs, technology updates, and progress filling staff vacancies. The district is rolling out a new enrollment system and parent portal with features like online absence reporting.
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Votes (2)
Acceptance of Report on August 5th, 2026 Committee of the Board Meeting and Approval of Recommended Motions and Minutes
Moved by Chair Ward [18:00] · Seconded by Director Allen [18:00]
The Board received a committee report detailing discussions from the August 5th, 2026 Committee of the Board meeting. Topics included the SPPS 2033 Strategic Plan, facilities portfolio analysis, GC4 Washington Tech firemen repair, Meg Project PD plan year one, career pathways update, financial literacy, and police policy update. Full minutes were available in the board book or online.
Approval of the SPPS 2033 Strategic Plan
Moved by Chair Ward [1:03:00] · Seconded by Vice Chair Valiant [1:03:00]
Superintendent Stanley and Dr. Graachea presented the SPPS 2033 Strategic Plan for approval, detailing its extensive community-led development, foundational elements, three priority areas (Excellence in Instruction, Deliberate Inclusion, Sustainable Infrastructure), 26 benchmarks, monitoring, and implementation timeline. Discussions highlighted the importance of consistency, alignment, and student voice, and acknowledged that implementation would require repurposing existing resources. Board members expressed strong support and appreciation for the thorough process and the plan's vision.
Notable Quotes (2)
When I came on the board, I was somebody who was like. Yeah, what's, what is our current strategic plan looking like? How are we implementing this and how are we, uh, moving forward even past, um, the strategic plan and remember having conversations with Doctor Stanley early on about like a refresh strategic plan and, um, and Doctor Stanley really just jumped right in and, and, and knows that our work as a district really needs to live within. Um, a document that guides us, um, in that, and I think for us to be able to transparently communicate our decisions to the community to Director Henderson's point, having this document um, is a step in that direction and so, um, deep gratitude to you all and task force members and everyone who's gotten us to this point.
I'm not gonna be as articulate right now as I would normally be Oh my gosh, that's embarrassing, because like I am exhausted. I have a 5 month old at home, uh, and I'm I'm sleep deprived, but I just wanna say like, generally thank you all so much to everyone who, who worked on this. This is so exciting. Um, uh, Doctor Stanley fellow board members that that served on, on the committee everyone in the community that was involved, everyone on staff who was involved, um, it's, it's really exciting that we're about to approve a new strategic plan tonight uh, and I'm looking forward to, to seeing where this goes.
Ordinances & Resolutions (11)
Website for public comment info, board member contact, meeting schedule, and board book/audio.
Proposed amendment to Minnesota State High School League bylaws to restore biology-based eligibility for girls' sports.
Governing rules for high school sports eligibility in Minnesota, subject of proposed amendment.
Federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education, cited in discussion of girls' sports eligibility.
Supreme Court decision affirmed as supporting the constitutionality of biology-based sports eligibility.
The district's new strategic plan, guiding its direction for the next seven years.
Superintendent Stanley's initial report that formed the basis for the strategic plan's key topic areas.
The district's professional and respectful workplace policy, tenets to be ensured during staff onboarding.
Framework used for building and organizing structures for continuous improvement.
Plan used at the building level with components for reading, math, climate, and culture.
New statewide requirement for ensuring families have access to information in their spoken language.
Source document
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Other Topics from This Document
SPPS 2033 Strategic Plan Development and Components
Board Initiated Goals Governance Report: Graduation Rates
2026-2027 School Readiness Report
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