Community Partnerships

Approved Partnerships are the district’s process for ensuring that common standards are consistently applied for all potential partners. To have an Approved Partnership means that you have established a formal relationship with the Winona Area Public Schools as either a provider of services or programming.

Classroom Volunteers help with specific events, such as a field trip or special project in the classroom, and are coordinated through the school’s PTA or the classroom teacher. Volunteers usually have a relationship with a child in the classroom (parent/guardian, sibling, grandparent, etc) but it is not required. If you are a community member and would like to volunteer please contact a school office or community education. Please visit our Volunteer website by clicking the following link: WAPS Volunteers If you are a pre-service teaching candidate you must work through your school for an approved partnership. Active participation in the class is mandatory; we do not provide observation experiences.

No; only one program information form needs to be submitted. If a community organization has multiple programs to offer, then a separate form needs to be completed for each different program.

Programs are not allowed to begin until the partnership is approved by WAPS. For more information, click the WAPS Partnership Process link located on the left of this webpage.

People who are working with students require a background check. Verification of a completed background check is the responsibility of the partnering organization. If you have questions regarding the need for a background check, please check with the building/program administrator.

You will not have direct access to student data; however, as you work with the staff and students, information of a confidential matter may be shared with you. The problems, abilities, grades/scores, relationships and confidences of students, their parents and the staff should never be discussed with anyone who does not have a professional right or need to know. Like teachers, volunteers are bound by a code of ethics to keep confidential matters within the school. The staff and students needs to know they can trust you. If you believe you will need access to student data due to the nature of the partnership please see the program/building administrator.

Winona Area Public Schools requires commercial general liability insurance if a Community Partner will be working with students unsupervised. Having this insurance means that a Partner is adequately protected in the case of accidents or negligence.

Individuals must check in with the building/program administrator to complete any required paperwork. This will include a brief orientation to review necessary information.

RAPTOR is a visitor registration system that enhances school security by reading visitor drivers’ licenses, comparing information to a sex offender database, alerting building administrators if a match is found, then (assuming no match was made) printing a visitor badge that includes a photo.

Safety of our students is our highest priority. Raptor will provide a consistent system to track visitors and volunteers while keeping away people who present a danger to students and staff members. The system quickly prints visitor badges that include a photo, the name of the visitor, time and date.

Individuals working under approved community partnership agreements should sign in and out and wear a picture ID badge issued by the Organization. If they do not have a photo ID issued by the Partnership Organization they will need to wear a Raptor visitor badge.