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By Nathan Bergstedt Grand Rapids-Herald Review



For years, the Blandin Foundation has held an integral role in the advancement of the communities in the Itasca area. But what is the basis of all advancement that is required for any society? The answer is simple: Education.

Earlier this year, the Blandin Foundation teamed up with IASC (Itasca Area Schools Collaborative) and held a series of three discussions open to the community on how to further student success. In each of these 'community conversations,' more than 100 people participated from numerous disciplines and backgrounds from throughout the area, but all with the common desire to see the next generation of students excel to their potential.

"This is mission work for the Blandin Foundation. And our mission is to strengthen communities in rural Minnesota, especially the Grand Rapids area," said Blandin Foundation President Jim Hoolihan.

The discussions began as just that: Talks. They were brainstorming sessions where different ideas were free to come together in an organic fashion so that it could be seen where the educational priorities of the community lay.

"We figured, 'lets give people a broad spectrum of community perspectives from the Itasca area, and give them a chance to sit down together and put in front of them a lot of compelling questions about where we're at right now. What's the current reality around student success?'" said Blandin Foundation Senior Program Officer Matt Rezac.

[[In-content Ad]]Teachers, parents, business owners, and even students bounced ideas off each other and were then gathered by Blandin personnel. In the end, four key issues, or strategic directions, were developed: Forward-looking Educational Transformation, Bold Employer & Education Exchanges, Leading-edge Family Engagement, and Unprecedented Community Support.

"What this project is about is a partnership that goes beyond the Blandin Foundation and IASC, but a partnership that goes to the whole community," said Hoolihan. "Because we think that it's going to be a broad spectrum of partners that work successfully for student success to strengthen local communities."

At the conclusion of the last meeting, held in April, a core team was developed of citizen volunteers who wanted to progress these ideas beyond their current stage. More than 30 individuals make up the core team, all from an equally diverse mix as the attendants of the meetings. Throughout the summer, they've begun the process of furthering the strategic directions that were decided on, and in some cases, have already begun to implement them.

Starting with a look at the current reality of education in the Itasca area, then to the hopes for where education could be in the next five years, and then to ideas on how to make those hopes into reality over the next five years, the core team has begun to look at how the concepts that sprung forth from the original meetings can be practiced.

The portion of the team focused on Bold Employer & Education Exchanges has already begun to contact local businesses and industries to learn more about what could be done to create more internships and scholarships, for instance. Whereas they may be further ahead than the other groups in the team, the work is still in the early stages.

A fourth community conversation is scheduled for Sept. 28, where the core team will give an update on their progress. It will be an opportunity for the community to reconvene on the topic of education, and to see what has happened with their original concepts throughout the summer.

As this project continues, the tentative plan is to have annual community meetings where further unfiltered discussions can take place. Since education is a topic for the greater society to own, the Blandin Foundation sees their role in it as providing a forum and organizational tools to those with the desire to make a change.

The meeting on Sept. 28 will be from 4 to 8 p.m. and will be held at Wendigo Lodge. It is open to the public.

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