With potential changes coming to Investing in Innovation (i3) supported programs, senior Tenzin Lhanze said she believes college advisory can make a difference in students futures and should not be cut.

This year, Park received a new i3 grant Dec. 20 from the U.S. Department of Education for $12 million at the validation level, replacing the $4 million original grant which ends this spring.

The new i3 grant provides less money compared to the original grant, to support and continue academy courses, tenth grade blocking, advisory and the Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR) program offered at Park. The original grant funded the expansion of the BARR program to three schools, yet the new grant funds the expansion of the BARR program to 57 schools across the country.

While the new i3 grant provides more money for expansion, it is reducing the amount Park receives for its own programs. The old grant provided Park $400,000 to build programs such as academy courses, tenth grade blocking, advisory and the BARR program. The new i3 grant sends $100,000 to Park to continue these programs.

With the reduction of funding the administration and i3 supervisors will begin focusing on how to cope with the new budget. I3 coordinator, Justin Barbeau said he and the administration are focused on sustaining the programs funded by i3.

“We need to be focusing on what should we continue, what can we absorb, and what hasn’t been effective,” Barbeau said. “That whole process will be a joint effort with the superintendent, principal, myself, and the director of the i3 model.”

Going forward with limited funding will not detract from the goals of Park’s programs, said Barbeau.

“The goal is to keep the ninth grade blocking, some sort of college and career program, and the academies going forward,” Barbeau said. “A lot of those pieces I’m sure will be continuing in some capacity, but again, we need to be thinking about return on investment and balancing a lot of moving parts.”
Lhanze said cutting programs could affect success later in life.

“Advisory taught me how to prepare for college,” Lhanze said. “It would be a shame to lose the program.”
The benefits of the academy class which are funded by i3 are important to keep because they impact students’ futures said junior John Medeiros.

“The academy classes are really good because they can point you in a direction for a career,” Medeiros said. “Cutting them would affect opportunities for St. Louis Park students.”
During the next several months the i3 team and administration will further develop their plans for next year’s programs.