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Rochester School District Launches Parent Center; Kamiah Hosts Holiday Parent Café Series
By Drooid · · How we work
Rochester School District Opens New Parent Center
The Rochester City School District (RCSD) inaugurated a Parent Center on the Loretta Johnson Middle School campus on Genesee Street in late September. The facility consolidates district staff, community partners, a food pantry, clothing closets for students and parents, and a one-on-one resource station, aiming to give families a single location for assistance rather than navigating multiple offices.
Holiday Parent Café Series in Kamiah
Families in Kamiah are invited to a three-part Holiday Parent Café Series on October 14, November 18, and December 16 at 6:00 p.m. Each evening provides a complimentary dinner, free childcare, and themed discussions—“Spooky Good Support,” “Gratitude and Grit,” and “Warmth in the Winter.” Parents attending all three events will receive $150 in Christmas shopping funds.
Funding and Incentives
The Parent Center is part of RCSD’s $1.16 billion budget for the 2026-27 school year. District officials note that the building was already vacant, keeping start-up costs low while maximizing space for family services. The Kamiah cafés are funded through local sponsorships, with the $150 incentive intended to encourage sustained participation.
Official Statements & Responses
Jamie Wilson, chief of staff for RCSD, said the center reflects a long-standing vision to provide comprehensive resources for families and to support teachers by addressing broader household needs. He added that the district will gauge success through city and county data on food insecurity and family surveys measuring perceived welcome and satisfaction. Organizers of the Parent Café series emphasized that the gatherings aim to strengthen community connections, build resilience, and offer practical support during the holiday season.
Verbatim Quotes
- “So this, vision of a parent center has been around for a long time in Rochester, but the idea was to open up a building, if you will, that provides resources for families and different avenues,” — Jamie Wilson, chief of staff for the RCSD
- “We understand that teachers are in the classroom and they’re instructing, but they need support as well. And so we work as a collective, as a whole, as a district to ensure that our families have their needs supported, and our students are strongly supported in the classroom, and they have resources to encourage them to continue coming to school,” — Jamie Wilson, chief of staff for the RCSD
- “So what I want to say is that we’re definitely being fiscally responsible. And so as I mentioned before, this space already existed and was vacant for quite some time. So the cost to get the, the parent center up and running was minimal. And what we want to do is maximize this space, to support as many families as possible,” — Jamie Wilson, chief of staff for the RCSD
- “We look at city data. We look at county data about food insecurities to ensure that we’re doing our part here at the district level…Another need is perception how to families feel. Do they feel welcomed? We do that by survey collection. So we look at how do you feel coming in at the beginning of the year to how do you feel at the end of the year?” — Jamie Wilson, chief of staff for the RCSD