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.
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.
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.
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.
$42,133,035
FEDERAL CHARTER SCHOOLS PROGRAM INVESTMENT
21,690
TOTAL NEW SCHOOL SEATS CREATED
54
TOTAL IDAHO SCHOOLS SUPPORTED
$132,237,381
TOTAL PHILANTHROPIC INVESTMENT
Stories
Kelly Trudeau joined a group of parents trying to open a K-12 charter school called Compass in Meridian, Idaho more than 20 years ago, with no intention of ever becoming an administrator. She was a school counselor whose own children attended a charter school in nearby Nampa, and she joined the group to help rewrite parts of the charter application that the local school district kept rejecting. “I’d never thought about being an administrator,” Trudeau said. “I was a school counselor. I didn’t want to be a school administrator.”
At Bluum’s Annual Legislative Dinner this month, we brought together education leaders and policymakers to focus on one of the most important levers for strong public charter schools: quality authorizing. In this video, Jim Goenner CEO of the National Charter Schools Institute, shares what quality authorizers do, and why it matters for ensuring public charter schools deliver on their promise for students and families across the Gem State.
When Jennifer Ribordy joined Bluum in 2020 as the organization’s lone special education staffer supporting about 20 Idaho charter schools, she quickly realized the field had a problem that went deeper than burnout. “Seventy percent of special ed directors currently working have less than five years’ experience in that role,” she said, citing a West Ed study. “When you’re talking about a field that is so compliance heavy, so complicated, so legally precarious, having folks in that role that don’t stay longer than five years is really problematic.” The reasons are layered: resource shortages, complex laws, tense relationships with families, and small schools that can’t afford to split compliance work from leadership. Most directors are promoted by “baptism by fire”—a strong teacher suddenly asked to lead.
Hispanic Parents Talk About Schools & Life in Idaho
Idaho's Communities of Excellence Charter School Grant
Idaho Education by the Numbers
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