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.
$32,169,806
FEDERAL CHARTER SCHOOLS PROGRAM INVESTMENT
19,286
TOTAL NEW SCHOOL SEATS CREATED
35
TOTAL IDAHO SCHOOLS SUPPORTED
$98,222,342
TOTAL PHILANTHROPIC INVESTMENT
Job Opening –
Idaho Special Education Director Fellowship
If you are interested in this opportunity, please email your resume, cover letter, and references to jribordy@bluum.org with the subject line: “Special Education Director Fellow Application.”
Applications must be received by midnight MT on April 1, 2025.
Learn More Here
Stories
Idaho’s $25 million Building on Success for Future Excellence program led by the Idaho education non-profit Bluum announced the award of $6,800,000 in competitive grant funding from the Federal Charter School Program. This round of awarded subgrantees plans to create 1,895 new school seats throughout the state of Idaho.
Anyone who follows public education in Idaho closely knows that since arriving here a decade ago, Teach for America (TFA) has had an indelible, positive impact on the state. A broad spectrum of alumni exemplify that impact. Whether they served as one of the 150 TFA corps members for two years in Idaho or served elsewhere and then moved here, many of the 30 or so alumni living in Idaho continue to be deeply involved in charter schools, district schools, and state policymaking. “Teach For America’s goal is to advance opportunities for all students in Idaho, but particularly for students at a disadvantage, so that they can have the futures they want for themselves,” said Tony Ashton, who has been TFA Idaho’s executive director from day one. “By acting as a strategic talent partner and bringing more great leaders into Idaho’s education system, and then supporting their ongoing development, we’re helping to create the conditions for this to be possible.”
We know from conversations with charter school leaders in other states that the facility financing work being done in Idaho is the most innovative charter school facility financing effort in the country. It’s a powerful example of the private/philanthropic sector working with the public sector and the Legislature to finance charter facilities in ways, and at costs, currently not possible in other states. The new report from Bluum and ExcelinEd, Reducing Facility Costs: How Idaho is Helping Charter Schools Focus Resources on Instruction, examines Idaho’s innovative policies and partnerships that have saved over $110 million in facility financing costs for charter schools. These groundbreaking efforts have allowed schools to allocate resources toward hiring an average of 10 additional teachers per school—all without additional taxpayer expense.
Hispanic Parents Talk About Schools & Life in Idaho
Idaho's Communities of Excellence Charter School Grant
Idaho Education by the Numbers