Student Success Community Convenings – 2010

The Blandin Foundation and the Itasca Area Schools Collaborative (IASC) co-sponsored a series of community conversations in February, March and April 2010 focused on the question “what can be done to better help all students succeed in the Itasca Area?”  An average of 100 participants representing a broad spectrum of perspectives and locations across the Itasca area attended each event.  The group prioritized four draft strategic directions that are essential to better serving student success:

• Forward-looking educational transformation
• Leading edge family engagement
• Bold employer investments
• Unprecedented community support

At the conclusion of the community convenings, a “Student Success Community Alliance” was formed to carry forward the group’s work, and a core team of 35 volunteers formed to guide this new alliance. This summer, they have:

• Revised and finalized the draft strategic directions
• Developed a purpose statement for the Student Success Community Alliance
• Identified 12-month goals and implementation plans, approximately one for each strategic direction
• Informed the development of a communications plan to help engage additional community members in the alliance’s efforts
• Helped plan a “reconvening” in September of participants from the spring meetings, and others, to report on progress and invite greater community participation in the alliance’s efforts.