Northspan’s Welcoming Community program coordinates an initiative called Inclusion Learning Cohorts (ILCs).
The ILCs are focused on building understanding of how to support thriving and welcoming communities by helping participants identify ways to improve inclusion and belonging in their communities. Participants in the ILCs have opportunities to engage in educational and interactive learning activities with community members and local and national subject matter experts.
The learning cohort process involves three key elements:
- Community participation in the Inclusion and Belonging Survey
- Series of seven workshops with topics selected and hosted in partnership with local collaborators
- Selection and implementation of a Community Inclusion Project by cohort members (up to $5000 in funding available)
The ILCs are created in partnership with a core team from the community representing a variety of sectors including (1) business and chamber, (2) law enforcement, (3) non-profit and community organizations, (4) health care system, (5) education, (6) spiritual, religious, or faith groups, (7) arts and culture, (8) youth, and (9) elders.
The Cloquet and Cook County areas served as the pilot communities for this program in Northeast Minnesota in 2022-2023, showing promising results in reaching the goals of:
- Building relationships across difference
- Learning inclusive community practices
- Identifying gaps in inclusion and discuss areas of need in the community
- Identifying a Community Inclusion Project to move forward together
March 2024 Update
New Inclusion Learning Cohort Communities Host First Workshop
The Deer River and International Falls communities recently participated in the first of seven workshops as part of the 2024 Inclusion Learning Cohorts (ILC) facilitated by the Welcoming Community program.
The first workshop was held in March 2024 in both communities and provided a foundation for future workshops by guiding participants in learning the ABC’s of Constructive Dialogue. Educators from the national nonprofit Urban Rural Action led the workshop. The remaining workshop topics are unique to each community and based on the results of a community-wide survey distributed earlier in the process.
Upcoming workshops will be held on an approximately bi-weekly basis for the remainder of the series. If you live or work in one of the ILC communities and are interested in learning more or participating contact Northspan’s Welcoming Community Program Coordinator Amber Lewis at alewis@northspan.org
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Past Updates
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May 2023
Application Available! Inclusion Learning Cohorts 2023-2024
Northspan’s Welcoming Community program is excited to announce launch of the application for the 2023-2024 Inclusion Learning Cohorts.
Throughout the past year, we have been highlighting the progress of the two initial Inclusion Learning Cohorts in rural communities in northeast Minnesota. The Cook County Area and Cloquet Area Inclusion Learning Cohorts have now wrapped up their workshop series and have moved on to planning and embarking on their Community Inclusion Projects!
We plan to offer the Inclusion Learning Cohort in two communities over the next year.
The Inclusion Learning Cohort process involves:
- Initial recruitment of community members
- Completion of a comprehensive assessment (to hear community voices and understand the current baseline for inclusion in the community)
- Reporting the results of the assessment and choosing workshop themes through action planning with community members
- Recruiting community members to apply to participate in the 7-workshop series of the Inclusion Learning Cohort
- Project selection and planning for continued action to address gaps in inclusion in the community
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March 2023
Inclusion Learning Cohorts: One Step Toward a Welcoming Community
Northspan’s Welcoming Community programming, in partnership with local, regional, and national educators, has been organizing and facilitating monthly meetings in two areas of the region: the geographic areas of the Cook County School District and the Cloquet School District. These Inclusion Learning Cohorts (ILCs), were formed in 2022, beginning with an Inclusion Readiness Assessment survey to establish a baseline for understanding the inclusiveness of each of these rural communities. The focus was then placed on working with local community members in understanding needs unique to the communities, engaging educators with expertise related to gaps in inclusion identified, and relying on local knowledge.
The ILCs consist of monthly workshops over a seven-month period. Each workshop topic is based off needs identified in the Inclusion Readiness Assessment survey, and input from community members. The workshops are experiential learning opportunities focused on:
- Building relationships across difference
- Learning inclusive community practices
- Discussing challenges in the community
- Identifying a community project to move forward together
Both the Cloquet Area and Cook County Area ILCs are currently wrapping up their seven-month series of workshops, and are in process of selecting a community inclusion project for which they can apply for a grant to fund up to $5,000.
The ILCs in these communities are just one step in moving toward a Welcoming Community for our region of northeast Minnesota.
One participant from the Cloquet Area Cohort, Hillary Hedin, shared this thought at the conclusion of the workshop series:
“It was so encouraging to hear how each of us wanted what is best for our community—to live in harmony with one another—working, playing, learning together. Helping each other, making sure our neighbor is OK—no matter what differences we may have with that person.”
After the success seen in these two cohorts, Northspan plans to continue ILCs in rural areas of the region. More information on upcoming cohorts and a future application process will be shared as it becomes available.
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August 2022
Registration Continues for Inclusion Learning Cohorts
Registration is still open for the Inclusion Learning Cohorts in the Cloquet and Cook County areas! Participation in the Inclusion Learning Cohorts is limited to those who live or work in the school district areas of the respective communities.
The planning process for what the unique workshops in each community will look like has continued and been informed by the Inclusion Readiness Assessment in each community. Topics of interest and relevance have been agreed upon and educators asked to participate based on input from community members at the Inclusion Readiness Assessment and Reporting virtual meetings, through open ended comments in the Inclusion Readiness Assessment survey, and with feedback from the NE MN Welcoming Community Advisory Committee. More information below!
Cloquet Area Inclusion Learning Cohort
Third Monday of the Month, September-March
First Meeting: September 19th, 2022
Agenda: Dinner and Socializing, 5:00-5:30PM; Interactive Program, 5:30-7:30PM
Location: Cloquet Public Library (320 14th St, Cloquet, MN 55720)
Cook County Area Inclusion Learning Cohort
First Thursday of the Month, October-April
First Meeting: October 6th, 2022
Agenda: Dinner and Socializing, 5:00-5:30PM; Interactive Program, 5:30-7:30PM
Location: Cook County Higher Education Building (300 W 3rd St, Grand Marais, MN 55604)
The Inclusion Learning Cohorts are learning opportunities where community members engage in hands-on activities with stakeholders, subject matter experts, and community members. The monthly cohort workshops provide a framework for communities to:
- build relationships
- learn inclusive community practices
- discuss areas of need in the community, and
- identify a community venture project to move forward together.
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July 2022
Inclusion Learning Cohorts Set to Begin
We are excited to announce the launch of the Inclusion Learning Cohorts in the Cloquet and Cook County areas! Dates have been chosen and in-person locations secured for each community. Participation in the Inclusion Learning Cohorts is limited to those who live or work in the school district areas of the respective communities. More information below!
Cloquet Area Inclusion Learning Cohort
Third Monday of the Month, September – March
First Meeting: September 19, 2022
Agenda: Dinner and Socializing, 5:00-5:30PM; Interactive Program, 5:30-7:30PM
Location: Cloquet Public Library (320 14th St, Cloquet, MN 55720)
Cook County Area Inclusion Learning Cohort
First Thursday of the Month, October-April
First Meeting: October 6th, 2022
Agenda: Dinner and Socializing, 5:00-5:30PM; Interactive Program, 5:30-7:30PM
Location: Cook County Higher Education Building (300 W 3rd St, Grand Marais, MN 55604)
In June, Northspan along with the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality hosted Reporting and Action Planning sessions for the Cloquet and Cook County areas. In the online sessions the results of the Inclusion Readiness Assessment, which had been ongoing since April 2022, were reported and community members engaged in discussion and provided direction for the learning opportunities to be included in the Inclusion Learning Cohorts. To review the recordings of the reporting portion of the sessions see the links below:
- Cloquet Area Inclusion Readiness Assessment Reporting
- Cook County Area Inclusion Readiness Assessment Reporting
The Inclusion Learning Cohorts are learning opportunities where community members engage in hands-on activities with stakeholders, subject matter experts, and community members. The monthly cohort workshops provide a framework for communities to:
- Build relationships
- Learn inclusive community practices
- Discuss areas of need in the community, and
- Identify a community venture project to move forward together.
Workshops will be facilitated in partnership with the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality, Northspan Group, Inc., and other potential partners. Inclusion Learning Cohort workshop themes may include:
- Why Is Inclusion Important to Our Community?
- Understanding Local History & Storytelling
- Constructive Dialogue and Problem Analysis
- Engaging the Community
- Creating Belonging
- Understanding Bias, Race, and Cultural Competency
- Leading in Equity and Inclusion
- Moving Towards Inclusive Policies and Practices
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April 2022
Complete the Inclusion Readiness Assessment Online
On April 14, 2022, the virtual Inclusion Readiness Assessment session was hosted by Northspan in partnership with the University of Minnesota Extension’s Center for Community Vitality.
The meeting featured an orientation to the Inclusion Readiness Assessment and breakout rooms for participants to complete a portion of the assessment related to a community sector they are involved with (schools, health care, local government, businesses, law enforcement, faith organizations, and nonprofit organizations). Over 50 community members participated in the session.
The Inclusion Readiness Assessment is used to establish a baseline to understand how inclusive our communities are for individuals from all backgrounds and differing lived experiences. This includes individuals from underrepresented groups including but not limited to BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, veterans, persons with a disability, elders (65+), and youth (18-23).
Using the results from the assessments, Northspan’s Welcoming Community programming is launching learning cohorts centered around inclusion topics in these three communities:
- Cloquet School District
- Cook County School District
- Rock Ridge School District
The next step in the process includes a two-hour Zoom action planning meeting for each community where the results of the assessment are reported and used to inform the learning topics for the Inclusion Learning Cohorts in that community.
The Inclusion Learning Cohorts will be monthly in-person educational and conversational spaces for community members to come together to learn and discuss topics related to inclusion and take action in addressing inclusion gaps in their community. These are set to begin in each community in June or July 2022.
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March 2022
Inclusion Readiness Assessment Set to Occur in Three Northeast Minnesota Communities
Northspan’s Welcoming Community program is preparing to launch learning cohorts centered around inclusion topics in three rural communities in northeast MN. The first step in launching the learning cohorts involves conducting an Inclusion Readiness Assessment in partnership with the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality.
The Inclusion Readiness Assessment is administered during a two-hour Zoom meeting with community members who live and work within the boundaries of the three selected communities. Community members will assess their community based on their connection to one of seven different sectors (schools, health care, local government, businesses, law enforcement, faith organizations, and nonprofit organizations). The results of the Inclusion Readiness Assessments will be used to provide data for future community Action Planning sessions and will inform the unique curriculum for the learning cohorts in each location.
In our most recent Advisory Committee meeting, school districts were decided upon as a logical community boundary due to the natural areas of interaction between community members and greater diversity than individual cities. The school districts identified for participation in the three initial learning cohorts are:
- Cloquet School District
- Cook County School District
- Rock Ridge School District
Northspan is searching for up to six (two per community) committed Community Outreach Coordinators to assist the Welcoming Community program in recruiting diverse participants from seven sectors in each community (schools, health care, local government, businesses, law enforcement, faith organizations, and nonprofit organizations).
Community members are recruited to participate in two 2-hour Zoom meetings: the Inclusion Readiness Assessment and a Community Action Planning meeting.
If you would like to learn more or get involved with the Inclusion Learning Cohorts, contact Welcoming Community Program Coordinator Amber Lewis at alewis@northspan.org