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BLUUM

Bluum

Blog

Bluum is a nonprofit organization helping Idaho become a national model for how to maximize learning outcomes for children and families.

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The Science of Reading Comes Home to Idaho

Andy Johnson began working as an administrator at the Sage International Network of Schools (with a campus in Boise and another in Middleton) in July of 2020, and immediately noticed that too many students weren’t learning how to read fluently.

Something clearly was wrong.

He examined the reading curriculum being used and concluded that was a major part of the problem. Students too often weren’t being taught to sound out words, but rather to infer meaning from pictures or hypothesize what word might work in a sentence. The curriculum employed a common practice called three-cueing used in schools across the country for the past several decades.

New Federal Charter School Grant Would Target Quality as Growth Slows

BOISE — By the end of September, Bluum will learn if its charter school support will be backed by a new $24.8 million U.S. Department of Education grant.

The Communities of Excellence Federal Charter Schools Program grant is awarded in a five-year cycle. In 2018, Bluum, a nonprofit charter support organization, used its $22 million grant to kick off a rapid expansion of schools, funding 28 schools over five years. Charter schools now educate almost 10% of the state’s public school students.

Elevate Academy’s Rosamaria Villaseñor is Selected as a 2023-2024 Rising Leader

Rosamaria Villaseñor, a sophomore at Elevate Academy in Caldwell, has been selected from a competitive pool of over 100 applicants from public charter schools nationwide to join the 2023-2024 class of Rising Leaders. She shares, “I am really nervous to do something like this since I’ve never done anything like it before. But I’m really looking forward to meeting other students from across the nation and getting to work with them”. Rosamaria is the first Idaho student to receive this honor.

Introducing Bluum’s 2023 Idaho New School Fellow

Dr. Jacob Francom is a first-rate educator from Montana who will serve as the founding principal of the North Idaho Classical Academy (NICA) in Bonners Ferry. The school is expected to open in 2025. NICA is part of the American Classical Schools-Idaho (ACS-I) network, aligned with Hillsdale College’s Barney Charter School Initiative (BCSI). NICA, at full-enrollment, will serve 360 K-12 Idaho students.

22-23 Special Education Leadership Fellowship: Emily Boles

I work for the Sage International Network of Schools – Boise and Middleton and I’m the special education director and federal programs coordinator. I cover IEP meetings when building admin can’t, manage all kinds of compliance and fiscal reporting, consult with teachers and our school psychologist, troubleshoot EDPlan…lots of variability every day!

Listen to Your Teacher: Analysis of Teachers Sentiments

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools recently unveiled a new report based in a nationwide survey by The Harris Poll titled Listen to Your Teacher: An Analysis of Teacher Sentiment on the State of Public Education. The survey, encompassing over 1,200 public school teachers from district and charter schools, explores teacher experiences and challenges. It also examined teachers’ motivations for entering, staying in, or leaving the classroom. Findings throughout showed charter teachers having higher rates of overall satisfaction and gratification in the field.

Promise Academy Public Charter School Opens at Idaho Youth Ranch’s Residential Center

By Sarah Meskin
The Idaho Youth Ranch has officially brought its latest project to life: The Residential Center for Healing and Resilience. Within this 24/7 Residential Center is Promise Academy, a year-round public charter school. My organization, Bluum, provided federal Charter School Program (CSP) grant support and technical assistance to the school and its authorizer the Middleton School District.