Letter: Why is There a Temporary Ban on Volunteers in Amherst Public Schools?

The following letter was sent to the Amherst Regional School Committee on Sept. 1, 2026.

I know this is a busy time for the Amherst Regional Public Schools. (ARPS). The start of school is also an especially vulnerable time for students. The LGBTQIA+ Caucus had intended to continue our efforts to support students by volunteering during the lunch block, but we have encountered several obstacles and confusing messaging. We are writing to request the Regional School Committee’s support in addressing our concerns. 

Since June 15, I have been trying to access information about the changes in volunteer procedures Dr. Xi flagged but did not detail at a meeting on that day. I have attempted to put the topic on an agenda we never got to at our caucus meeting with Dr. Xi. I have requested written follow-up after that meeting. I have asked the caucus to have the opportunity to weigh in on a policy change, since we are the only group with an active and ongoing volunteering program in the middle school and a policy change will impact our work. I urged the administration to respond in time for us to be able to support students at the beginning of the school year. I heard nothing back until this past weekend. 

Over the weekend, I was informed that the caucus is not able to begin volunteering at this time because there is a district-wide decision to not allow volunteering for now and instead to focus on other things: 

“At this time, Human Resources is prioritizing hiring and onboarding employees to ensure that our schools and district operations are appropriately staffed. The team is also completing our audit and supporting the opening of school. Given these immediate priorities, we are not yet ready to begin volunteer programming across the District. For now, we are asking that volunteers, including those who have already completed a CORI check, wait until the District communicates that volunteer activities may begin.”

I have expressed deep concerns about the district barring volunteer access during the earliest weeks of school – a vulnerable time for many students and a time when additional support would be especially helpful. We received so much gratitude from students and staff last year. It feels very clear that many of the people (students and adults) who are actually in the cafeteria managing the lunch hours benefited from and would appreciate our ongoing support. 

I was also informed by Dr. Xi  that the caucus will not have any opportunity to offer input on the procedures. Legal has reviewed them, and the union will review them next before they are put into place. We will only be able to see them when they are finalized and on the website. We will not have an opportunity to share how the changes might impact our work. 

I have not been provided with a timeline indicating when we can expect this information to be public or when volunteering might begin. 

I want to be clear about how confusing this shift is, given that last spring the caucus was (with the administration’s support) actively working toward supporting the PGO in bringing in more community volunteers. In fact, we specifically discussed getting people CORI-checked, and the caucus planned to do some Zoom trainings over the summer. The administration showed enthusiasm and support for this plan until our concern for students’ safety and well-being escalated to the point that we felt we needed to organize a rally and public comment to speak out at a School Committee meeting last June. The pivot toward what I have to assume will be more restrictive policies feels punitive and targeted. 

Dr. Xi states, “The District has not implemented new procedures without notifying the caucus, and this process is not directed at the caucus. These procedures will affect multiple schools, districts, volunteers, community groups, and organizations. Therefore, they must be developed based on what allows the entire District to operate safely, consistently, and effectively, rather than around the needs of any one group.”

The chronology of events and the rapid shift in the administration’s attitude toward our volunteering efforts indicates otherwise. Since the LGBTQIA+ Caucus is the only group currently organizing a volunteering effort at the Middle School, this policy will, of course, directly impact our work. To be clear, the fact that the LGBTQIA+ Caucus is the one group doing this organizing is a reflection of the harm that occurred against LGBTQIA+ students, and our legitimate concerns about their ongoing vulnerability. This group’s needs are real and different from the needs of many other groups. 

In the past week or so, I was informed that new volunteers would experience a delay in processing their CORI checks due to other district priorities. LGBTQIA+ Caucus members have already passed CORI checks and have experience in the building. It would require no effort on the part of the administration to allow us to return to volunteering, and yet we are currently unwelcome. 

As the caucus is being told that there is no volunteering until further notice, there has been no public statement about this. Parents are unaware that ARPS is barring any opportunity for concerned community members to support or witness what is happening during the school day. 

At the same time, I am aware that other groups have been met with enthusiasm about their plans to volunteer, and other individuals have actually volunteered in district schools in the past week. 

I am curious if programs like Girls on the Run or Big Brothers Big Sisters have been informed that they are unwelcome in the building, or if it really is only the LGBTQIA+ Caucus. 

As it stands right now, the Amherst Regional Public Schools are a closed system, and closed systems are dangerous. 

The caucus requests that these issues around volunteering be addressed and discussed at the September 8 Regional School Committee meeting. We need a clear statement from the district about what the current procedures are and whether they violate any policies. We need to understand why they are being applied so inconsistently. We need to know when we can expect the finalized procedure and when we can begin our volunteering initiative again.  

The caucus also calls upon the RSC to move quickly to put proactive, protective policy in place around volunteering, making it clear that community volunteers do not have to be caregivers to support students in Amherst Regional schools. Seniors, Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers, people affiliated with groups like Girls on the Run, and certainly members of a caucus with multiple years of history advocating for some of ARPS’s most vulnerable students, should be welcomed as volunteers. 

I would appreciate a response indicating whether the RSC intends to move forward to address these concerns at the meeting on the 8th and to pursue policy that would protect volunteer initiatives from any procedures that stand in the way of concerned community members supporting vulnerable students. 

Ali Wicks-Lim

Ali Wicks-Lim is Spokesperson for the LGBTQIA+ Caucus of Amherst