Volunteers from 3M helped ready the new Career Pathway Center on the Saint Paul College campus on Aug. 31, 2022. The new Saint Paul Public Schools learning space features classrooms, state-of-the-art technology and equipment, collaboration areas and an outdoor courtyard where students from numerous post-secondary institutions can pursue college courses, industry, trade, advanced manufacturing, Vo Tech certifications and internships. The transformation was led by national education nonprofit Heart of America.
Over the next five years, 3M has committed $1.375 million to support this program. It will give students from all SPPS high schools equitable access to college courses offered by faculty from numerous post-secondary institutions including: Bethel University, Century College, Dakota County Technical College, Minneapolis Community & Technical College, Minnesota State University - Mankato, Online College in the High Schools, Saint Catherine’s University and Saint Paul College.
Career Pathways are part of the SPPS Strategic Plan led by Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard and the visionary work of the late Darren Ginther, SPPS Director of the Office of College and Career Readiness. SPPS extends their gratitude for the long-term commitment of anchor partners 3M, Greater Twin Cities United Way, Right Track Center for Youth Employment and now, Heart of America, for believing in our students.
Superintendent Gothard remarked, “This districtwide program is the next phase of the college and career readiness work that is part of our SPPS Achieves strategic plan. With pathways in science and medical, business and communications, human services, and innovative and emerging technologies, high school students can graduate already having gained real-world experience, industry certifications, college credit and internships in the field of their choice.
“I am so proud of this work, and so excited about the future for this first cohort of students, and the many to come after them. Students, you have made an excellent decision enrolling in this program, and we can’t wait to see what you accomplish.”
It cost $500,000 for the space, renovations and programming/staffing costs. “The fair market value of the cost of the project is typically 1.5 to 2.25 more than the actual funding received due to our ability to work with our product and service vendors to procure free and/or deeply discounted prices,” observed Tim Tormoen of Heart of America Foundation. HOA provides high-quality resources and transforms spaces in under-resourced schools, helping to close the gap in education spending by creating modern learning environments that are essential for children to reach their potential in a rapidly changing world. Heart of America has served more than two million students in need by distributing more than 4.3 million books, investing $7.5 million in technology, and transforming over 800 community spaces, including public libraries, athletic facilities, technology labs, workforce development centers and schools in historically under-invested communities across North America and Puerto Rico.
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