Dear St. Croix Prep Community,

Welcome back! I hope your family has had a great start to the 2026–27 school year. It is always exciting to see the building full again as students reconnect with friends and teachers and everyone settles back into the rhythm of a new school year.

For those families who are new to St. Croix Prep this year, welcome to Prep! We are so glad you are here and hope you and your students quickly feel at home in our community.

I also want to thank our Executive Director, Dr. Jennifer Fuchs, for her welcome-back message in the Family Handbook (Link to Family Handbook) and our division principals, administrators and classroom teachers for the communication they have shared with families as we have started the year. A tremendous amount of work happens behind the scenes to prepare for the return of our students, and I know I speak for the entire Board when I say how much we appreciate the work of our teachers, staff, and administrators to get another school year underway.

I also have an important update to share regarding our School Board meeting schedule.

At our August 18, 2026 meeting, the School Board approved an amendment to the St. Croix Preparatory Academy Bylaws moving our regularly scheduled Board meetings from the third Tuesday to the fourth Tuesday of each month.

That means our September Board meeting will now be held on:

Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.

This replaces the previously scheduled September 15 meeting.

Going forward, regular Board meetings will generally be held on the fourth Tuesday of each month. You can always find the full calendar of scheduled meetings on the School Board section of the SCPA website. If a meeting date changes or a special meeting is scheduled, notice will be provided in advance in accordance with applicable Minnesota Open Meeting Law requirements.

A Little More About Our Board Meetings

I also want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that School Board meetings are public, and you are always welcome to attend.

The SCPA Board is a strategic board. Our work is guided by the school's strategic plan, and our role is to look at the bigger picture of where St. Croix Prep is today and where we are headed. That means our meetings cover a wide range of topics. We receive updates on the school's finances, academics, operations, and strategic priorities; review and approve significant contracts; work on policies and governance; and discuss larger decisions that impact the school and our community.

Sometimes families hear that a change is happening at Prep and understandably wonder, Where was this discussed? How was that decision made? What is happening with this issue? In many cases (not all of course), the Board meeting is where those strategic conversations are happening.

Board meetings are one of the best ways to stay connected to the bigger-picture work of the school. You can hear the same updates the Board receives, listen to the questions Board members are asking, and hear the discussion that takes place before many decisions are made. You do not need a special reason to attend, you are part of this community, and these meetings are open to you.

Draft agendas are shared in the Prep Weekly on the Friday before each regular Board meeting and are also posted on the St. Croix Prep School Board website. If you cannot attend in person, meetings can also be viewed via Zoom. That link is available on the Board website as well.

Starting the School Year Together, One School, One Community

I would also be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the work that has gone into navigating our new transportation system. A change this significant was never going to come without some bumps along the way. It has required patience and flexibility from our families, staff, administration, and, of course, our students. Thank you to everyone who has worked through those challenges, asked questions, provided feedback, and helped find solutions.

I also appreciate that our administration is willing to try new things in an effort to make our school better. Trying something new doesn't mean it will always work exactly as planned. Sometimes we learn that something needs to be adjusted, and sometimes we may learn that we need to take a different approach altogether. That is part of progress.

What is important to the Board is that student safety comes first, communication remains open and transparent, feedback is heard, and we are willing to make changes when something isn't working as intended. I appreciate the work our administration and staff have done, and continue to do, to keep those priorities at the center as we work through the beginning of this school year together.

To our teachers and staff, thank you for everything you did to prepare for our students and everything you are already doing each day. To our families, thank you for your patience, partnership, questions, feedback, and support. And to our students, welcome back! We hope this year gives you plenty of opportunities to learn, grow, challenge yourselves, build friendships, try something new, and enjoy being part of the Prep community.

Finally, please know that the Board wants to hear from you. Families, staff, and other members of the Prep community are always welcome to reach out directly to School Board members with questions, feedback, or concerns. If something falls within the Board's role, we will do our best to answer or help. If it is something that is better addressed by a member of our administration, we will help make sure it gets to the right person, consistent with our communication policies.

We don't expect our community to agree on every issue or every decision. What we do hope is that our families and staff feel informed, know where to go with questions, and feel comfortable being part of the conversation. That connection between our Board, administration, staff, families, and students is an important part of what makes us one school and one community.

We look forward to a great 2026–27 school year.

Warmly,

Terri Gulbransen

St. Croix Preparatory Academy School Board - Chair

terrigulbransen@stcroixprep.org