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We empower, invest in, and support educational leaders who take risks and put children first.

LET LEARNING GROW.

EMPOWER

We empower educational leaders in the Gem State by providing one- or two-year fellowships to those who take risks and put children first.

Learn About Our Fellowships

INVEST

In partnership with the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation, Bluum serves as a funding intermediary and local champion for supporting entrepreneurial education ventures.

Our Funding Opportunities

SUPPORT & IMPROVE

Bluum provides partner schools with additional services and technical assistance. Our team can help elevate the business of running a school by reviewing financial infrastructure and identifying areas of strength and areas for improvement.

What Bluum Does

DISCOVER & INFORM

Bluum has become a go-to resource on education research and innovation. We aim to share the work of Idaho’s high performing schools and outstanding educators. Our hope is that it can become a national model for helping all children reach their fullest potential.

Look at some helpful Research

Impact Stats

since 2015.

$19,432,387
FEDERAL CHARTER SCHOOLS PROGRAM INVESTMENT
14,989
TOTAL NEW SCHOOL SEATS CREATED
31
TOTAL IDAHO SCHOOLS SUPPORTED
$62,744,211
TOTAL PHILANTHROPIC INVESTMENT

Stories

Facility Financing in Idaho: Public Charter Schools Have Some Lessons to Offer Districts

by Terry Ryan
Going back 25 years, the legislative intent of Idaho’s public charter school law was to have charters serve as laboratories of innovation that traditional school systems can learn from and build on. When it comes to building and financing facilities for students our charter schools have some important lessons to share.

Elevate East – A District/Charter School Partnership that Works for Students

By Alan Gottlieb
It’s safe to say that rarely has a public charter school been as welcomed into a community by the local school district and seemingly everyone else as Elevate Academy East, a career and technical education middle and high school opening in the summer of 2024 in the Idaho Falls area. It will be Idaho’s fourth Elevate Academy.
“As we look at their mission as a school, and what they’re working to do, it aligns perfectly with what our district is working on, and what our purpose and overall vision for students is,” said Scott Woolstenhulme, superintendent of the Bonneville Joint School District 93, adjacent to Idaho Falls.

Bluum Exceeds Its Five-Year Charter School Growth Plans

Darren Svan, Idaho Ed News
This story originally appeared on Idaho Ed News

As Bluum awards the last federal grant funds that five years ago kicked off the rapid expansion of charter schools, the organization predicts 2,800 more seats and eight more schools than originally promised. While those results can’t be celebrated until the last six schools are built and the other 22 completed schools finish growing, Bluum expects to fly by their expansion expectations, made to the U.S. Department of Education in 2018. And with a new Department of Education grant application process currently underway, and millions of dollars more of federal grant money up for grabs, Bluum is back to work looking for opportunities, new innovations and partnerships. The organization has not applied yet, but expects to make that decision this spring.

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2021 Annual Report

We have the privilege of serving some of Idaho’s finest school leaders in helping them educate and support their thousands of families and students. In 2021, the real heroes in our orbit were our 30 plus partner schools and their teams.

Read The Report
Annual Report

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