Idaho’s Public Charter Schools at 25: The Best is Yet to Come

— By Terry Ryan —
Going back to its creation story in the last quarter of the 20th century, the public charter school bargain in America called for an exchange of operational freedom for schools in return for accountability tied to results. As far back as the 1970s the University of Massachusetts-Amherst education professor Ray Budde proposed letting teachers create semi-autonomous schools that would combine enhanced teacher freedom and flexibilities with stringent accountability for student results.

More of a Professional Than a Student

— By Kristen McCarver —
“I love seeing their faces every day, and especially love seeing their excitement.” Paige Pence is a third-year Kindergarten teacher at North Idaho STEM Charter Academy in Rathdrum. She’s also a school alumna. Teaching was always on the table as a career path for Paige. Her interest was piqued when North Idaho STEM offered an opportunity for students to serve as teaching assistants as a high school elective.

Idaho Needs to Get Creative to Meet its School Facilites Challenge

— By Keith Donahue and Terry Ryan —
As America’s second fastest growing state, Idaho’s student population continues to grow. This comes as little surprise for any of us that visit schools in our fastest growing communities. You see it in the hallways and in the lines of traffic as parents let their children off for school in the mornings. From 2012-13 to 2021-22 our K-12 student enrollment grew from 264,760 to 319,159; a net gain of 54,399 students.

Elevate Academies Work for the Students Who Need Options

Elevate Academy, a public charter Career and Technical Education (CTE) school in Caldwell serving at-risk students in grades 6-12, has so successfully addressed an unmet need that the model is expanding across Idaho with two new schools opening this month, in Nampa and up north in Post Falls.

New Leadership for a New School Year

Bluum is committed to ensuring Idaho’s children reach their fullest potential by cultivating great leaders and innovative schools. Research shows that quality school leadership is a primary driver for improving student achievement, which is why we support our partner schools in seeking out the very best education leaders they can find from across the state and the nation.

Growing Idaho’s American Classical Academy Public Charter Schools

A three-year-old classical academy charter school in Fruitland has proved so popular that its founder is launching a new organization to help other Idaho communities open schools following the same model.

Idaho’s Communities of Excellence CSP Grant: Year 3 Evaluation

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Education awarded Idaho’s Communities of Excellence (COE) consortium a $17.1 million Charter Schools Program (CSP) grant. The amount of the award increased to $22.5 million in 2019. Grant funds will be distributed over five years with the intent to achieve Idaho’s COE objectives.

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